Copper prices rose sharply on Friday but not enough to recover losses earlier in the week as turmoil in the banking sector raised the threat of bank failures and slower economic growth. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 2.1% at $8,695.50 a tonne by 1157 GMT but was still down nearly 2% on the week. Prices fell 3.7% on Wednesday alone as the collapse of two mid-sized US lenders was followed by a crisis engulfing Switzerland’s Credit Suisse. Copper hit a 10-week low of $8,442 a tonne on Thursday. However, fears of a banking meltdown eased somewhat on Friday after the Swiss central bank provided ... (full story)