By MATT DAY NEW YORK—Copper futures climbed after six of the world's major central banks announced coordinated action to shore up the global financial system, easing worries that Europe's debt crisis may slam the industrial economy. The most actively traded contract, for March delivery, was up 10.45 cents, or 3.1%, at $3.4950 a pound in early trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures reached $3.53 a pound at one point, the highest intraday price since Nov. 16. The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and four other central banks said Wednesday that they had agreed to lower the price on existing dollar-liquidity swap arrangements, making dollar funding cheaper for banks that hold dollar-denominated assets or make loans in the currency. The move sparked rallies in equities and growth-sensitive commodities as investors bet that it limited the chance of an imminent euro-zone credit squeeze. Copper is sensitive to the economic outlook because of its widespread uses in construction and manufacturing, and prices have tracked investor sentiment toward the euro-zone debt crisis. The currency union is the second-largest consumer of the metal after China, and a financial crisis there could rattle demand world-wide. Adding fuel to copper's rally was a decision by the People's Bank of China to decrease the amount of money lenders must deposit with the central bank, effectively increasing the availability of cash in China. The move was seen by market participants as a signal that Beijing was easing the tight-credit policies that had limited the ability of manufacturers to finance metals purchases.

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