* Copper falls for a second day, down a quarter for 2011 * Zinc tumbles after China's third-quarter GDP growth slows * Euro zone crisis erodes investor confidence in commodities By Jane Lee KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Copper and zinc led a decline in commodities on Tuesday after China's gross domestic product growth slowed and delays in finding a solution to the euro zone crisis heightened concerns that the global economy will slip into a recession. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell for a second day, zinc tumbled the most in more than two weeks, oil prices shed more than half a percent and spot gold dropped 0.5 percent. Grains, already under pressure due to a pick up in harvest, were also not spared. China's economic expansion eased slightly in the third quarter to its slowest pace since the second quarter of 2009 as the world's growth engine and top energy consumer strained against tight monetary policy at home and softening demand abroad. "Fundamentally, demand from China will not collapse but growth will be slower," said Yao Wei, a Hong Kong-based economist at Societe Generale, who forecasts China's gross domestic product growth will slow to 8.3 percent in 2012 from an estimated 9 percent this year. "If we have a stable global financial backdrop, it will help China better manage its economy." LME copper lost 2.6 percent to $7,299 a tonne by 0736 GMT, after dropping 0.7 percent in the previous session. Supply disruptions caused by strikes at two Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold mines, including one of the world's largest copper mines in Indonesia, kept a floor under copper prices, which have lost almost a quarter of their value so far this year. Zinc was the biggest loser among base metals, falling 2.6 percent on the LME and 4.4 percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SZNc2. The weak global economic outlook amid mounting worries about the euro zone debt crisis and news that China's GDP growth eased to 9.1 percent, slightly below forecasts of 9.2 percent, dragged down Asian shares. Germany said on Monday that a summit of EU leaders next Sunday would not produce a miracle cure for the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, a warning that pushed down markets after a rise in the past week on expectations of a breakthrough. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a conference in Duesseldorf that European governments would adopt a five-point plan at the Brussels meeting to address the turmoil that has clouded the outlook for the global economy. The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 2.6 percent to 54,440 yuan ($8,545.51) per tonne, after falling 0.2 percent in the previous session. HARVEST, ECONOMIC WOES DRAG GRAINS The gloomy economic outlook and China data also dented investor sentiment in a grains market that is already weighed down by a pickup in harvest. "It's bearish via the impact on non-food commodities, particularly on energy prices," said Malcom Bartholomaeus, a Melbourne-based analyst at Profarmer Grain Australia, which provides grains marketing advice. "That in turn will ripple through to vegetable oils, corn which is used in ethanol, and then back to food grains like wheat." Corn for December delivery declined 0.3 percent to$6.38-3/4 per bushel, after two consecutive sessions of gains. U.S. soy futures for November delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade declined for a second day, dropping 1 percent to $12.40-1/4 a bushel after hitting a two-week high on Friday. Soy rose nearly 10 percent last week, notching its biggest weekly gain on a percentage basis in more than two years as farmers refuse to sell soybeans despite a rapid clip in harvesting the 2011 crop. Wheat for December delivery slipped 0.1 percent to$6.24 per bushel. Prices Wc1 have fallen 21 percent this year after a 47 percent jump in 2010. Global wheat harvest estimate for 2011/2012 was boosted to 681.2 million tonnes in October from 678.12 million tonnes a month earlier, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. GOLD, OIL DROP Gold, which has moved in tandem with equities and other commodities in recent weeks, dropped half a percent, but analysts remained bullish about the long-term outlook for the precious metal. "It will not be the end of problems there," said Mark Pervan, global head of commodity research at ANZ Investment Bank in Melbourne. "There will be residue risk in the market, and the market would have to long gold." Spot gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,662.29 an ounce, down from a three-week high of $1,694.60 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 edged down 0.7 percent to $1,664.40 an ounce. Brent crude LCOc1 for December lost 0.7 percent to $109.42 a barrel, after falling to as low as $109. U.S. crude CLc1 shed 51 cents to $85.87, one day before the front-month November contract expires. Oil prices were however supported by lower Angolan crude production expected in December. Angola will export around 1.69 million barrels a day of crude oil in December, trade sources said on Monday, down from 1.84 million barrels a day originally scheduled to load in November. (With additional reporting by Carrie Ho, Rujun Shen and Francis Kan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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