Copper May Rise as Mining Disruptions Curb Supplies, According to Survey

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Copper may rise as mine disruptions curb supply amid increased investor demand, a survey showed.

Seven of 14 analysts, investors and traders surveyed by Bloomberg, or 50 percent, said the metal will gain next week. Six predicted lower prices and one was neutral. Copper for three-month delivery rose 2.3 percent for this week at $9,280 a metric ton by 4:13 p.m. yesterday on the London Metal Exchange. 

The Collahuasi copper mine in Chile said Dec. 20 it won’t ship the metal from the northern Patache port until further notice after an accident shut down the port. Copper demand will exceed output by 825,000 tons next year, Barclays Capital said in a Dec. 22 report.

"The underlying story is still very strong for copper,” said Dan Smith, an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc in London. "There are ongoing problems in Chile and generally there is still a lot of interest by investors in copper.”

The red bars on the attached chart are derived by subtracting bearish forecasts from bullish estimates, with readings below zero signaling the majority of respondents expect a decline. The green line shows the copper price. The survey data shown are as of Nov. Dec. 17.

The weekly copper survey has forecast prices accurately in 56 of the past 117 weeks, or 48 percent of the time.

This week’s survey results: Bullish: 7 Bearish: 6 Hold: 1