Copper prices rose on Thursday, as potential disruptions in producing countries raised worries of shortage of supply for the metal.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 0.9 percent to $7,693.50 a ton and the most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 0.6 percent to 61,330 yuan ($8,801.66) a ton.
Workers at BHP’s BHP Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, threatened on Wednesday to go on strike over what they described as safety concerns, the mine’s union said.
In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo reiterated on Wednesday that the country will stop exporting raw copper, bauxite and tin to encourage foreign investment and help the country jump up the value chain in resource processing.
LME aluminum was up 1.6 percent to $2,270 a ton, zinc rose 1.4 percent to $3,167.50 a ton and tin climbed 1.9 percent to $21,250 a ton.
ShFE aluminum advanced 1.3 percent to 18,535 yuan a ton, nickel jumped 25 to 175,760 yuan a ton and tin increased 1 percent to 177,730 yuan a ton.
Brazilian mining company Vale said on Wednesday that global demand for nickel should increase 44 percent by 2030 compared to that expected for this year, due to high demand for use in electric vehicles batteries. – Reuters
