Copper futures were higher early Wednesday, after briefly touching new contract highs, on renewed fund buying as uncertainty surrounding another hurricane held the market hostage, traders said.
Copper futures in New York took their cue from copper prices in London, where the red metal raced up to new all-time highs on fund buying in response to firm oil prices.
Some funds have been seeking safe-haven plays with the threat of damage from Hurricane Rita's approach to US Gulf Coast oil refineries.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, December copper shot up to a contract high at $1.70 a lb., then quickly steadied below that level to trade around $1.6880, up 2.20 cents.
Spot September briefly matched the contract high set on Tuesday at $1.7840 a lb. But the volume at the peak price was very small and prices edged back to $1.7740 a lb. COMEX estimated 10 am copper volume at 4,000 lots.
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