Copper and zinc fell for the first time in four days in London as some investors viewed recent gains as excessive amid concern the European debt crisis may slow global economic growth. The metal for three-month delivery dropped as much as 0.6 percent to $9,782 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, and traded at $9,806 by 12:38 p.m. in Shanghai. The contract advanced 1.5 percent yesterday to a more than three-month high after U.S. housing starts data were higher than expected. Zinc declined 1 percent today to $2,465.50 a ton. “The gains last night were considered somewhat excessive, so we see some investors reaping profits today, given copper’s fundamentals and the market environment,” Pang Juan, an analyst at Jinrui Futures Co., said by phone from Shenzhen. Work began on 629,000 houses at an annual pace, up 15 percent from May and the highest level in five months, figures from the Commerce Department showed. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou travels to Brussels tomorrow to meet with EU leaders as officials struggle to agree on measures to restore confidence in the euro region’s creditworthiness after the last year’s financial rescue of Greece. Policy makers are divided on how to prod investors into financing a new bailout package and whether the 17-nation euro area should issue eurobonds to help debt-laden nations. The most active October contract was little changed at 72,740 yuan ($11,266) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Demand in China is growing at a slower rate than was the case last year, Duncan Hobbs, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd., said by phone yesterday, after a trip to China. China should raise borrowing costs to correct the current situation in which real interest rates are negative, He Keng, a vice chairman of the financial and economic affairs committee of the National People’s Congress, said at a forum in Beijing today. Aluminum, nickel, and tin in London were little changed at $2,547, $24,140, and $27,899 a ton, respectively. Lead fell 0.4 percent to $2,760 a ton as of 12:41 p.m. in Shanghai. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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