Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Zinc futures in Shanghai fell as trading resumed after being suspended yesterday following three straight days of maximum-permitted daily losses. Copper advanced, rebounding from a nine-month low.

Zinc tumbled 20 percent this month on the London Metal Exchange, the global benchmark, amid concerns slowing U.S. economic growth will reduce demand for metals. The Shanghai Futures Exchange raised the maximum daily limit to 13 percent from 6 percent on contracts for January and February delivery.

``We've got a crazy market that's more to do with fund speculation than fundamentals,'' Yuan Xiaoning, a trader at Minmetals StarFutures Co., said by phone from Shenzhen today. ``Fundamentals are bad, but not to the extent of such declines.''

January delivery zinc, the most-active contract, fell as much as 11.6 percent to 16,100 yuan ($2,173) a ton on the Shanghai exchange and closed 1.8 percent down at 17,870 yuan. London zinc for delivery in three months rose 1.6 percent to $2,255 a ton at 3:08 p.m. in Shanghai.

Margins on Shanghai zinc for January and February delivery were increased for the second time this week to 14 percent from 9 percent, the exchange said yesterday in a statement. They rose from 5 percent on Nov. 19.

Exports of zinc from China jumped 21 percent to 258,261 tons in the first 10 months of this year, compared with a year earlier, according to customs data issued today. Exports fell 66 percent to 8,964 tons in October, the lowest level in almost two years as exports were unprofitable.

Tax Changes

China's government is studying a plan to remove a 5 percent rebate on zinc exports next year, a move that could exacerbate domestic oversupply, Wang Jianjun, managing director of Zhuzhou Smelter Import & Export Co., a unit of China's biggest zinc producer, said by phone from Zhuzhou, Hunan province, today. He declined to elaborate further.

``There may be a rush of exports in the following months ahead of the anticipated tax changes,'' said Minmetals' Yuan. Major producers have piled up inventories in the past months due to a lack of buyers, he said.

Exports in November and December could rebound to around 20,000 tons a month, analysts and traders including Yuan said.

``Producers and traders have got to make money if they export, with or without tax benefits,'' Xuan Long, an analyst at Huawen Futures Co., said by phone from Shanghai today.

Copper for February delivery rose in Shanghai for the first time in five days, by 2.4 percent to close at 54,450 yuan a ton. The metal for immediate delivery in Changjiang, Shanghai's biggest cash market, rose as much as 1.6 percent to 56,000 yuan a ton today.

London Metal Exchange copper for delivery in three months gained 0.9 percent to $6,576 a ton.

To contact the reporter for this story: Li Xiaowei in Shanghai at Xli12@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 22, 2007 03:32 EST