Copper pares gains as oil rally weighs on industrial metals
CPER•Copper was up 0.11% at $14,491 a ton on the London Metal Exchange after earlier reaching its highest in nearly two weeks, as an oil rally revived inflation and interest rate worries. Supply concerns supported prices, with three mines accounting for nearly 5.5% of global copper mine production facing labor disruptions or strike risks.
1. Copper gives back gains
Benchmark three-month copper was up 0.11% at $14,491 a metric ton by 0700 GMT, after touching $14,646 earlier in the session, its highest in nearly two weeks. The most-traded Shanghai Futures Exchange copper contract rose 0.63% to 110,260 yuan a ton.
2. Supply risks support prices
Expectations of restocking by Chinese buyers, low stocks and mine supply risks supported copper, CRU principal analyst Craig Lang said. Workers are on strike at Antofagasta’s Centinela mine in Chile; BHP has requested government mediation to avert a strike at Escondida; and a union at Philex Mining’s operation in the Philippines voted to strike. The three mines account for nearly 5.5% of global copper mine production, Lang said. Oil prices rallied on Middle East supply concerns, reviving inflation and growth worries that weighed on industrial metals.
