Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell in London as a rebounding dollar curbed demand for industrial metals as an alternative investment. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, rose as much as 0.9 percent after Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. will work to preserve confidence in a strong currency. Prices also dropped after the People’s Bank of China raised one-year lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage point. “The PBOC action follows the rise in the bank reserve deposit ratio for the largest six banks a week or so ago and suggests that the authorities are keen to ensure that inflation does not rise further,” said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London. Copper for delivery in three months dropped $73, or 0.9 percent, to $8,370 a metric ton at 12:26 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The contract touched $8,492, the highest intraday price since July 7, 2008. December-delivery copper fell 1.2 percent to $3.81 a pound on the Comex in New York. Tin for three-month delivery on the LME fell 0.5 percent to $26,525 a ton. Prices reached a record $27,338.50 on Oct. 14. The metal has jumped 57 percent this year, leading advances on the exchange, after production was disrupted in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Aluminum slid 0.4 percent to $2,400 a ton and nickel was little changed at $23,800 a ton. Lead dropped 0.8 percent to $2,418 a ton and zinc lost 0.6 percent to $2,411 a ton. --Editors: Dan Weeks, John Deane. To contact the reporter on the story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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