US MIDDAY: copper sinks

Copper nose-dived more than 3 percent on Thursday to its lowest level since December as fears about sputtering global growth and growing inflation risk triggered a vicious cross-commodity crash. The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index was last off almost 5 percent on the day and 8 percent so far this week, heading for its biggest weekly decline since December 2008, as prices of oil, metals and grains plunged amid the widespread liquidation.
In New York, the July COMEX copper contract plunged 13.60 cents or 3.3 percent to settle at $3.9980 per lb. Copper's losses put it on track for its biggest weekly decline since mid-March.