copper price hits new record
Copper in Shanghai Reaches Record Due to Prospect of Mine Strike in Chile
Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures in Shanghai rose to a record on the prospect of a strike this week at Chilean mines owned by Codelco, the world's biggest producer of the metal.
A group of 28,000 contract workers want a bonus of 500,000 pesos ($963) from state-owned Codelco after prices of the metal surged 40 percent last year. They may protest as soon as today at Codelco Norte, the company's biggest division. Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said yesterday that the government won't give the bonus.
``A strike would add to the bullish trend in copper,'' said Cai Luoyi, head of research with China International Futures (Shanghai) Co. ``If there were no strike, prices would most likely have continued last week's falls,'' he said.
Copper for March 2006 delivery rose as much as 910 yuan, or 2.2 percent, to a record 42,480 yuan ($5,264) a metric ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, reversing three days of losses. It traded at 42,350 yuan at 9:45 a.m. local time.
On Dec. 29, contract workers at Codelco blocked an entrance to a mine for three hours. Codelco, which declined to comment yesterday, said last week the protest didn't reduce output.
Codelco owns about a fifth of the world's copper reserves. The company's production last year was about 1.7 million tons, according to Codelco estimates made in October.
BHP Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)