US MIDDAY: copper falls

Copper crumbled on Monday to its cheapest price since late November as investors, fearful about further tightening measures in China and an inability by policymakers to resolve Europe's debt crisis heavily, reduced their exposure to risky assets.
Copper's 3.8 percent price drop - its biggest one-day loss since early March - led all decliners in the base metals complex, as concerns about slowing economic growth, particularly in the Western world, limited any hint of bullishness from a still-supportive fundamental picture for the red metal. In New York, the key December COMEX contract plunged 14.90 cents to settle at $3.7825 per lb, near the bottom of its $3.7655 to $3.9150 session range.