Copper futures in New York rebounded from an early bout of profit-taking on Wednesday, extending the prior day's 4.7 percent rally after a better-than-expected reading of the ISM's non-manufacturing index, sources said.
"The macro players in the market are now reassessing their bearish bets. They are reassessing the full-blown panic they experienced back in May and they are starting to put some positions back in," said one dealer at a New York trading house.
By 10:37 am EDT (1437 GMT), copper for December delivery gained 3.05 cents at its early high at $3.6550 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division.
Traders pegged first support at the $3.60 level, while initial resistance was seen at around the August 10 high, near $3.70. Spot September climbed 2.90 cents at $3.68 a lb. COMEX copper volume at 10 am EDT was estimated at 3,000 lots.