Copper flares up on labour unrest

Copper prices rose in Asia to a one-month high on concern labour disputes in Chile, the world's largest source of the metal, may disrupt supplies and further deplete global stockpiles. Zinc was also higher.

Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange (LME) dropped for a seventh day, by 1,650 tonnes to 110,375 tonnes, the exchange said yesterday.

Contract workers at Dona Ines de Collahuasi, Chile's third-largest copper mine, plan to strike on July 9 after they found an improved wage offer too low.

Copper prices rose, influenced by a further decline in LME stockpiles and "continuing concerns that industrial unrest at several locations will affect copper supplies,'' David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a report today.

Copper for September delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose for the fifth day in six, gaining by as much as 1,400 yuan, or 2.1 per cent, to 67,050 yuan ($8,824) a tonne, the highest since June 6. It ended the day up 0.8 per cent at 66,190 yuan a tonne.

Copper for immediate delivery in Changjiang, Shanghai's biggest cash market, was little changed at 65,290-65,490 yuan a tonne today.

Copper for delivery in three months on the LME, the global benchmark, was 0.3 per cent higher at $7,850 a tonne at 3:06 pm in Shanghai.

Contract workers at Codelco, the world's largest copper miner, have been on strike since June 25 in Chile to press for higher wages.

At Dona Ines de Collahuasi, controlled by Xstrata and Anglo American, a wage offer by management was "still way below workers' expectations'', union president Hernan Farias said yesterday.

Elsewhere, Xstrata may meet the union representing workers at its refinery in Montreal on July 13 to try to end a strike over wage and pension demands that began on June 11, a union official said yesterday.

Lead, this year's best-performing metal on the LME , rose to a record for a fourth straight day.

Lead for delivery in three months gained as much as $25, or 0.9 per cent, to $2,912 a tonne. That beat the previous record set yesterday by $21.75.