In New York, the key March COMEX contract shot up 9.70 cents or by 2.8 percent to settle at $3.5130 per lb, near the top of its $3.4040 to $3.5175 session range on Tuesday. Volumes picked up as buyers reentered the market. More than 53,500 lots traded in late New York business, up over 20 percent from the 30-day norm, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.