Copper prices are rising due to strong demand prospects and tight supply
Copper prices rose on Wednesday, due to bright demand prospects, supply interruptions in some South American mines offset the pressure brought by rising inventories.
As of midday, copper prices for delivery in May rose by 0.91%, and futures prices on the Comex market in New York hit $4.1055 per pound ($9031 per ton).
London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper prices rose 0.8 percent, to US $ 9028 per tonne, while the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Shanghai Futures Exchange) most traded May copper prices fell 0.7 percent to 66,940 yuan per ton (US$10,298.46).
"The fundamentals remain healthy, especially in the context of South American supply and logistics disruptions, and the demand outlook based on positive macro data looks promising," a copper analyst based in Singapore told Reuters.
Ports in Chile's top copper producer disrupted concentrate and copper metal exports for most of January.
Chinese data show that industrial growth in the first two months of 2021 was strong, while China’s new loans fell less than expected in February.
At the same time, the tight supply of copper concentrate is still a concern for downstream copper companies .
"However, the rise in US Treasury yields and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar in the short term have dampened risk sentiment, which must have put pressure on copper prices," analysts said.
Copper supply
Antofagasta said on Tuesday that it expects to reach a salary agreement with workers this month. Prior to this, copper and gold prices remained high and the company's annual profit would increase by 12.3%.
After workers rejected the company’s latest offer at the Los Pelambres mine in Chile, wage negotiations with the union have not yet been resolved, and Chile is the world’s largest copper producer.
"This is about how we work with unions to maintain corporate competitiveness. This is the key we need to establish as the basis for any negotiation," Finance Director Otis told Reuters.
On Tuesday, a union representing Antofagastalos Pelambres' miners agreed to extend government-mediated talks until next week to avoid a strike.
