By Millie Munshi Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices surged more than 7 percent after a U.S. government rescue of Citigroup Inc. boosted investor confidence and eased global-recession concerns. Citigroup got $306 billion of U.S. government guarantees for troubled mortgages and toxic assets. Before today, copper tumbled 48 percent this year amid bank losses, tighter credit and slumping manufacturing. “The rescue deal has provided the confidence factor this morning,” Alex Heath, the London-based head of industrial metals at RBC Capital Markets, said in a report. Copper futures for March delivery jumped 12.25 cents, or 7.8 percent, to $1.7015 a pound at 9:35 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close at that price would mark the biggest percentage increase since Oct. 29. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $237, or 6.7 percent, to $3,777 a metric ton ($1.71 a pound). To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net.

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