US MIDDAY: copper down

Copper crumbled to its lowest since December on Wednesday, as signs of a growth slowdown in China signalled sustained softness in demand from the world's largest metals consumer. Selling mounted late in New York as a flight-to-safety bid in the dollar grew and losses across the metals, agriculture and energy markets gathered pace, nearly wiping out the rebound of earlier this week after last week's near-record sell-off.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index, a broad measure of commodity performance, fell 2.5 percent, its biggest drop since the plunge in commodity markets on May 5. In New York, the July COMEX copper contract extended losses below $4 per lb to settle at $3.9135 per lb, down 12.85 cents or 3.2 percent on the day.