Copper futures fell in New York as inventories had a steep drop. Earlier copper had reached its highest price in three months on $3.5585 a pound.

Stocks of copper in London warehouses declined 2,625 tons or 1.6 percent to 164,125 metric tons on Monday touching their lowest levels since October 30.

Economists are concerned that supplies from China and Chile the largest producer of copper are falling.

Although copper's prices remain high during the day, futures for March delivery fell 0.25 cents or 0.07 percent to $3.5560 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7:14 p.m. On the London Metal Exchange copper for delivery in three months rose $57 or 0.74 percent to $7,797 a metric ton.

Also, a 36 percent drop of inventories in South Korea highlights demand from China is increasing. China is currently affected by snow storms which have stopped production and transportation of raw materials.

Shanghai's Futures Exchange will open until Wednesday after the Lunar New year holiday is finished.

South Korea China Copper