BASE METALS: Thin Volumes, Supply Concerns Lift Copper
30 August 2011 - 4:31PM
Dow Jones News
Copper futures are climbing on thin trading volumes and concerns
about copper-supply disruptions.
The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, was
recently up 6.45 cents, or 1.6%, at $4.1740 a pound on the Comex
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The front-month contract, for September delivery, was up 6.65
cents, or 1.6%, at $4.1555 a pound.
Low trading volumes aided copper's push higher, as individual
trades have a greater impact on prices when volumes are thin.
Copper-trading volumes eased as many European traders take off
the last week of summer while U.S. traders are also enjoying time
off ahead of the Labor Day holiday.
"It doesn't take much of an aberration to push the market
higher," said Sterling Smith, analyst with Country Hedging.
Workers at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s (FCX)
Grasberg mine may strike as contract negotiations appear
deadlocked, according to news reports. Freeport is the world's
largest listed copper-mining company.
Copper futures are drawing strength from the news as the last
Grasberg strike, in early July, deprived the company of 35 million
pounds of copper.
Chile copper production fell 18% in July, from the same period
last year, to 373,498 metric tons. Chile is the world's largest
copper producer and accounts for about one third of the world's
copper output.
The January to July copper output is down 4.2% year-to-year to
2,951,372 tons.
Copper prices are also stronger after a stream of
better-than-expected U.S. economic data snuffed out talk of an
impending recession for now, but "the odds that this streak could
be sustained is unlikely," said Edward Meir, base-metals analyst
with MF Global. He says he is wary of betting on higher metals
prices at current levels as "we still have some ways to go before
the current soft patch plays itself out."
-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095;
tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jun 2024 bis Jul 2024
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jul 2023 bis Jul 2024