Copper Falls as Supply Concerns Ease
27 April 2018 - 8:59PM
Dow Jones News
By David Hodari
LONDON--Copper prices slipped on Friday as concerns about supply
that had supported recent bullish forecasts for the metal continued
to subside.
The price of copper was down 1.6% at $6,856 a metric ton in late
morning trade.
Elsewhere, aluminum prices fell 1.6% to $6,855 a metric ton,
continuing their recent volatility after prices spiked later
Thursday on reports that Oleg Deripaska, who controls beleaguered
aluminum giant United Co. Rusal, plans to maintain his links with
the company despite the U.S. government's offer of sanction relief
in the event that he were to stand down.
Gold, meanwhile, edged 0.04% higher to $1,317.84 a troy
ounce.
Copper on Friday was weighed down after mining company
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. indicated that the latest in its long line of
disputes with the Indonesian government had not affected production
at Grasberg, the world's second largest copper mine.
The Indonesian government recently proposed new rules demanding
Grasberg store 90% of its tailings waste on site as opposed to the
current 50%. That would contradict the two parties' current license
conditions, and Freeport said the change couldn't be made.
Despite this, Freeport said it had not received notice to halt
production, according to John Meyer, an analyst at SP Angel.
Elsewhere, Norilsk Nickel reported Thursday that its
first-quarter copper production had risen 18.5% year on year. That
factor added to copper's headwinds, according to Alastair Munro, a
broker at Marex Spectron.
It wasn't all bearish news, however, with trade union leaders
saying that labor negotiations at the BHP Billiton-operated
Escondida mine in Chile were moving more slowly than expected.
If the two parties fail to reach an agreement, they'll have to
try again in July when the contract expires, said ING
strategists.
Metals traders were continuing to monitor developments in the
aluminum market, U.S. GDP data and news from the meeting of the
leaders of North and South Korea.
Among precious metals, silver was up 0.06% at $16.53 a troy
ounce, platinum was up 0.18% at $909.10 a troy ounce and palladium
was down 0.15% at $968.05 a troy ounce.
Among base metals, zinc was up 0.37% at $3,146.50 a metric ton,
nickel was down 1.57% at $14,065 a metric ton, tin was down 0.23%
at $21,255 a metric ton, and lead was down 0.19% at $2,334 a metric
ton.
Write to David Hodari at David.Hodari@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 27, 2018 06:44 ET (10:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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