London copper prices rose on Monday after a decision by MMG Ltd to shut down production at its Las Bambas mine in Peru exacerbated supply concerns in an already tight market, although the metal’s gains were capped by a firmer dollar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5 percent to $9,460 a ton, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange inched up 0.1 percent to 69,300 yuan ($10,879.12) a ton.
MMG said on Friday it would shut down the Las Bambas mine, one of Peru’s largest copper mines, by mid-December because of a road blockade.
Logistics and supply chain bottle necks have led to low copper inventories in some regions, while there might be traders building invisible stockpiles betting on a bullish copper outlook, said CRU analyst He Tianyu.
