Copper fell in London to the lowest in two weeks as a jump in stockpiles raised speculation that demand is declining as a global economic crisis deepens. London Metal Exchange-monitored inventories climbed 3,775 tons to 523,325 metric tons yesterday, the highest since Oct. 28, 2003. Japan’s gross domestic product shrank an annualized 12.7 percent last quarter, the Cabinet Office said yesterday. The contraction was twice as bad as those in Europe or the U.S. “Copper has entered a critical phrase and may start a slide to new lows as economic news points to grim fundamentals,” Tan Wentao, an analyst at HNA Topwin Futures Co., wrote in an e- mailed report today. Copper for three-month delivery fell as much as 2.1 percent to $3,260 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, the lowest intra- day price since Feb. 3. The contract traded at $3,270 at 10:02 a.m. in Shanghai. May-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 1.3 percent to 27,030 yuan ($3,954) at the same time. Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum gained 0.3 percent up at $1,352 a ton and zinc rose 0.2 percent to $1,131.

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