By Claudia Carpenter May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Copper and aluminum tumbled, leading declines in commodities for a third day, on speculation that European measures to curb debt will erode economic growth. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 commodities fell 0.3 percent to 499.998 at 12:05 p.m. London time, after falling 3.7 percent the previous two sessions. Copper dropped 2.2 percent, aluminum 2.8 percent and gold 0.5 percent. Corn and soybeans also retreated and oil traded little changed. The euro slid to a four-year low against the dollar and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet called for a “quantum leap” in how budgets of member states are controlled. Europe consumes about a third of the world’s natural gas, a quarter of its oil and a fifth of its copper, according to BP Plc and Barclays Capital. “As austerity measures are imposed in various economies and consumption declines, the prospect for lower asset values becomes a real threat,” Deutsche Bank AG analyst Daniel Brebner wrote in a report today. Three-month delivery copper fell as much as 3.5 percent to $6,685 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, the lowest price since May 5. Aluminum dropped as much as 4.1 percent to $2,015 a ton and zinc fell 4.9 percent to $1,955 a ton. Gold for immediate delivery declined 0.5 percent to $1,227.35 an ounce. Platinum fell 1.4 percent to $1,693.40 an ounce and palladium 2.2 percent to $514.50 an ounce. Both metals are used in auto catalysts and jewelry. Crude oil for June delivery climbed 0.2 percent to $71.76 a barrel in New York trading. It earlier dipped below $70 a barrel on concern about Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. Corn for July delivery fell 0.4 percent to $3.615 a bushel in Chicago while soybeans for the same month declined 0.8 percent to $9.455 a bushel. To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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