US MIDDAY: copper down

Copper shed nearly 3 percent on Tuesday as worries about the sustainability of China's economy compounded the Western world's growth prospects. Investors dumped copper, one of the Asian giant's top imports. It was the metal's first down-day in the past five sessions, and helped put the brakes on a recovery rally that lifted prices nearly 13 percent from a 14-month low below $6,700 per tonne last week.
In New York, the key December COMEX contract declined by 7.75 cents or 2.3 percent to settle at $3.2905 per lb, after dealing between $3.2305 and $3.3870. Volumes picked up a bit from Monday. About 45,000 lots were traded in New York, still down about 20 percent from the 30-day norm, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data. "You look at the macro picture and it's the same old story. Everyone is still nervous about Europe and politicians getting their act together," analyst David Wilson of Societe Generale said.