US MIDDAY: copper rises

Copper pushed higher for a second straight session Monday, buoyed by an upbeat tone in Asian markets and positive demand signals from China's auto sector. In New York, the key December COMEX contract rose 2.45 cents to settle at $3.4880 per lb after moving between $3.4710 and $3.5855.
Futures volumes were thin at the start of the trading week as European jitters persisted. About 44,000 lots traded in New York, almost a third below the 30-day norm, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.