Commodities Fall to Three-Month Low, Led by Metals, on Outlook

By Claudia Carpenter

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Commodities fell to a three-month low, led by copper and aluminum, on speculation that European measures to curb debt will erode economic growth.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 commodities slid 0.5 percent to 4,097.6 at 1:55 p.m. London time, after earlier falling to 4,052.8, the lowest since Feb. 5. Copper dropped 2 percent, aluminum 2.7 percent and gold 0.5 percent. Crude oil, corn and soybeans also retreated.

The euro slipped 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 0.4 percent to

$1,227.95 an ounce. Platinum fell 1.4 percent to $1,693.50 an ounce and palladium 2.4 percent to $513.85 an ounce. Both metals are used in auto catalysts and jewelry.

Crude oil for June delivery dropped 0.2 percent to $71.44 a barrel in New York trading and earlier dipped below $70 a barrel on concern about Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis.

Corn for July delivery fell 0.3 percent to $3.62 a bushel in Chicago while soybeans for delivery the same month declined

0.6 percent to $9.4775 a bushel.