Copper fluctuated in London before a report expected to show U.S. economic growth in the third quarter increased more than previously forecast, and as stockpiles increased for an eighth day. The world’s largest economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed before a Commerce Department report due at 1:30 p.m. London time. That’s more than a 2.5 percent increase in gross domestic product the government estimated last month. “Markets are looking forward to U.S. third-quarter GDP and existing home sales for November data,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London. “Better-than expected data will keep metals, especially copper, underpinned, with sentiment being more or less U.S.-positive recently, as opposed to jittery data and uncertainty in the euro zone.” Copper for delivery in three months lost $6.50, or 0.1 percent, to $9,358.50 a metric ton at 12:14 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange. It slid as much as 0.8 percent and gained as much as 0.3 percent earlier today. The metal on the LME rallied to a record $9,392 a ton yesterday. Copper for delivery in March was little changed at $4.2745 a pound on the Comex in New York, after losing as much as 0.7 percent and gaining as much as 0.5 percent. Sales of existing homes in the U.S. probably rose in November, economists said before another report today. Purchases increased to a 4.75 million annual rate, up 7.1 percent from October, according to the median of 70 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Construction accounts for a quarter of copper demand, according to the Copper Development Association. The U.S. is the second-biggest copper user, after China. Chilean Mine Accident Mortgage applications in the U.S. last week posted the biggest decline of the year. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index decreased 19 percent in the week ended Dec. 17, the Washington-based group reported today. The Collahuasi copper mine in Chile, the world’s third- biggest, said Dec. 20 it won’t ship the metal from the northern Patache port until further notice after an accident shut down the port. A monthlong strike at Collahuasi helped drive copper prices to a record earlier this month. “Against a better demand outlook for next year, supply forecasts point to a tight market and higher prices in early 2011,” Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib Financial Corp. in Moscow, said in a report today. Gains in the metal will be “positive for other industrial metals, as copper tends to dictate the directional trend,” he wrote. The International Copper Study Group is expecting a 435,000-ton deficit in the refined metal next year. Inventories Climb Inventories monitored by the LME gained 0.3 percent to 363,950 tons today, daily exchange figures showed, easing immediate concerns about shortages. Orders to draw copper from LME stocks, or canceled warrants, fell 1.5 percent to 16,450 tons, the lowest since Oct. 6. Warrants for copper held in the ETF Securities Ltd. exchange-traded product on the London Stock Exchange totaled 1,445.5 tons as of today, according to information on the company’s website. The nickel ETP holdings are 401.94 tons and tin assets were 80 tons, according to the company. The holdings started Dec. 9. Tin for three-month delivery on the LME fell 0.3 percent to $26,800 a ton. Nickel gained 0.2 percent to $24,666 a ton and zinc added 0.1 percent to $2,332 a ton. Aluminum gained 1.2 percent to $2,464 a ton and lead rose 1 percent to $2,457.75 a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in Moscow at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter@bloomberg.net.

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