Copper Advances to 9-Month High in Shanghai on Supply Concerns

LONDON, July 23 -- Copper in Shanghai climbed to the highest in more than nine months on concern that production disruptions in Chile will diminish supplies amid record imports by China, the world's largest user.

    Output at Collahuasi mine in Chile, the world's largest producer, will likely be cut following an "incident" that involved electrical equipment, according to a union leader. This comes at a time when China's imports of the metal surged to record levels for a fifth month in June.

    "A lot of fund money has been flowing into the copper market in China," Wang Zhouyi, analyst at China International Futures (Shanghai) Co., said today. "Many investors are very optimistic about economic recovery and so any news about potential output shortfall is good news for the market."

    Copper for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 2.5 percent to 44,060 yuan ($6,450) a metric ton, the highest since Oct. 14, and traded at 43,660 yuan at 10:36 a.m. in Singapore.

    Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange traded little changed at $5,495 a ton, after gaining to $5,550 yesterday, the highest since Oct. 14. Copper for September delivery in New York fell 0.7 percent to $2.508 a pound at the same time.

    Copper, this year's best performer on the LME with a 79 percent advance, has been driven by China's 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan to revive economic growth, purchasing by the country's State Reserve Bureau and shortages of scrap.

    The London Metal Exchange Index of six industrial metals closed at 2,585.5 yesterday, also the highest since Oct. 14. The index has jumped 50 percent this year, compared with last year's 49 percent drop.

    Damage Assessment

    The damage at Collahuasi, which is controlled by Xstrata Plc and Anglo American Plc, is being assessed, an Xstrata spokeswoman said yesterday. The mine produced 415,000 tons of copper last year.

    Output at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, will drop this year because of mill repairs, BHP Billiton Ltd. said in April. Attacks on workers at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s Grasberg mine in Indonesia, the world's second biggest, also spurred supply concerns.

    Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum fell 0.2 percent to $1,741 a ton, zinc dropped 0.7 percent to $1,675 a ton, lead slid 0.2 percent to $1,700 a ton and nickel lost 0.3 percent to $16,200 a ton. Tin hadn't traded as of 10:53 a.m. in Singapore.

    (Source: Bloomberg)