We present measurments of thea‐banisotropy of the normal state resistivity &rgr;a/&rgr;band measurements of the normal state magnetization along the three crystal axes. &rgr;a/&rgr;bincreases with increasing temperature and reaches a (sample dependent) value of 1.2 to 1.85 near room temperature. The results show that the CuO chains are metallic and that they can have a conductivity comparable to that one of the CuO2planes. A model of a parallel circuit of planes and chains is used to analyse the data. Superconducting fluctuations are found to be much more pronounced in the planes than in the chains. The normal state susceptibility shows the onset of strong diamagnetic fluctuations at temperatures below 200 K. At higher temperatures the anisotropy &khgr;c≳&sgr;a≳&sgr;bis observed and compared to predictions based on a model of local Cu‐moments in the planes and chains.