By Anna Stablum Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell from a 13-month high in New York as the dollar strengthened, eroding metals’ appeal as an alternative investment. The dollar gained on speculation that China may reduce economic-stimulus spending after reports today showed the country’s gross domestic product rose at the fastest pace in a year in the third quarter and inflationary pressures sped up. The government in China, the world’s biggest copper consumer, is spending 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) on infrastructure and other projects to stoke economic growth. “Metals are trading with the dollar at the moment,” Max Layton, an analyst at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in London, said by phone. “The Chinese numbers are amazing.” December-delivery copper shed 2.85 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $3.0075 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit at 8:35 a.m. local time. The contract yesterday rose as high as $3.0575, the highest intraday price since Sept. 25, 2008. Copper for three-month delivery was unchanged at $6,590 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The Dollar Index, a six-currency measure of the greenback’s value, rose as much as 0.7 percent, paring this year’s retreat to 7.3 percent. Declines by the currency make metals cheaper for holder of other monies. Industrial Output A weaker dollar has helped copper prices to double this year, along with record first-half imports into China. Industrial production in the country climbed 13.9 percent in September from a year earlier, the fastest pace in more than a year, today’s figures showed. Gross domestic product rose 8.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Beijing today. Local inflationary expectations are increasing as prices rise month-on-month, statistics bureau spokesman Li Xiaochao said at a press briefing. Chinese output of copper and aluminum rose 8 percent in September from the prior month, causing concern about excess production, analyst Eugen Weinberg at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt said in a report today. The country “has been producing more aluminum than ever before in a month,” he said. Consumption in Asia will drive demand for minerals, said BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company. “We stand at the threshold of an era of unprecedented growth due to demand generated by China and, in the future, India,” Chairman Don Argus said today. Strike at Spence A strike at BHP’s Spence copper mine in Chile entered its 10th day today. Workers are prepared to go on strike for a “long time” unless the company improves its wage and benefits offer, a union official said yesterday. Employees are seeking similar terms to BHP workers at the Escondida copper mine, also in northern Chile, said Daniel Ibacache, a spokesman for the union representing the workers. “Spence will set the benchmark for a lot of the other contracts, but there will not be huge tonnages lost,” Macquarie’s Layton said. The mine accounts for 1 percent of global copper production, he said. Among other LME metals for three-month delivery, zinc rose 0.2 percent to $2,239.75 a ton. It advanced as high as $2,265, the highest since May 21 last year. Workers also are on strike in Peru, the second-largest producer of the metal used mostly to rust-proof steel. Nickel fell 1.1 percent to $19,525 a ton. The “worst” is over in the stainless-steel market, and a “modest” recovery will take place in 2010, Finnish steelmaker Outokumpu Oyj said. About two-thirds of all nickel produced is used to make stainless steel harder and more durable. Aluminum rose 0.5 percent to $1,975 a ton after climbing as high as $1,999.75, the highest intraday price since Aug. 19. Tin gained 1 percent to $14,600 a ton, while lead shed 0.8 percent to $2,430.25 a ton.

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