Copper futures declined in New York after metal inventories posted the longest advance in 11 months, signaling the price rally to a record may be overdone. Stockpiles in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose for the 11th straight sessions. Copper’s relative- strength index, a gauge of price momentum, was over 70 in the previous two days, a level some analysts view as a sign that futures may fall. Copper “is looking technically overbought,” Alex Heath, the head of industrial metals trading at Royal Bank of Canada Europe Ltd., said in a report. “The risk still would appear to be to the upside for copper, but a correction of some magnitude would appear to be inevitable.” Copper futures for March delivery dropped 1.65 cents, or 0.4 percent, to close at $4.3115 a pound at 1:24 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Yesterday, the price climbed to a record $4.335. The metal has gained 50 percent since July 1. “Some consolidation is in order” after the rally, said Lannie Cohen, the president of Capitol Commodity Services Inc. in Indianapolis. “It would be healthy for prices to pull back a little before rising again.” On the LME, copper for delivery in three months rose $54, or 0.6 percent, to $9,400 a metric ton ($4.26 a pound). Earlier, the price reached a record $9,447. The market was closed yesterday and on Dec. 27 for public holidays. Aluminum, lead and zinc also gained in London. Nickel and tin fell. To contact the reporters on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@abloomberg.net; Yi Tian in New York at Ytian8@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McKiernan at pmckiernan@bloomberg.net

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