US MIDDAY: copper jumps

Copper rose to its priciest level in more than a month on Wednesday, building on the prior session's 3-percent price surge, and is near key technical resistance that could triggger further gains if pierced Copper's gains bucked broader market trends toward safer haven assets like gold and bonds after a warning from Fitch Ratings agency about troubled European debt reinforced fears about the impact of the region's funding crisis on the global economy.
In New York, the key March COMEX contract firmed 3.30 cents, or about 1 percent, to settle at $3.5460 per lb, after dealing between $3.4705 and $3.5565.