Copper dropped for a second day as signs of growing output overshadowed China’s preliminary manufacturing data that exceeded estimates. Aluminum and zinc also declined. Copper for delivery in three months retreated as much as 0.3 percent to $8,077.75 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and traded little changed at $8,082 a ton at 12:37 p.m. in Seoul. The May-delivery contract lost 0.5 percent to 58,520 yuan ($9,410) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The global copper market faces a surplus that may push down prices toward the end of the year, Thomas Keller, chief executive officer of Codelco, the world’s biggest producer, said yesterday in an interview. The global economy will expand 3.5 percent this year, less than the 3.6 percent forecast in October, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. “The Chinese data came out good today, but the expectation that the market will have enough copper as output increases is weighing on prices,� said Lelia Kim, a metals trader at Seoul- based Tong Yang Securities Inc. “While demand hasn’t improved much, supply is growing.� Production at Chile’s Escondida, the world’s biggest copper mine, jumped 31 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, said BHP Billiton Ltd. Output of refined copper in China increased 22 percent to a record in December from a year earlier, figures from the country’s statistics bureau showed. The preliminary reading of a Purchasing Managers’ Index was 51.9 in January, according to a statement from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics today. That compares with the 51.5 final reading for December and the 51.7 median estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The metal for March delivery fell 0.2 percent to $3.6775 a pound on the Comex in New York. On the LME, nickel and lead also fell, while tin rose. To contact the reporter on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net

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