MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Copper prices hit their highest in two years, over a Chilean miners' strike

The most-traded August copper contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped as much as 6% to 53,520 yuan (US$ 7,642.66) a ton, highest since June 15, 2018.

Shanghai copper hit its highest in nearly 25 months on Monday, while London copper scaled a 24-month high, on supply worries from top producer Chile due to a potential strike at a mine.

The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped as much as 6% to 53,520 yuan (US$ 7,642.66) a ton, its highest since June 15, 2018.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.3% to US$ 6,622.50 a ton, a level unseen since July 3, 2018.

Workers at Antofagasta Minerals’s Zaldivar copper mine in Chile voted in favor of strike action after rejecting a pay offer, the mine’s union said on Friday, adding that a strike had been set for July 15, pending government mediation.

* COPPER STOCKS: ShFE copper inventories CU-STX-SGH rose 20.1% in a week to 137,336 tons on Friday, the second straight week of gain. However, the stockpiles level is still 64% lower than its 2020 peak in March.

* SHANGHAI PRICES: Aluminum hit near a 26-month high at 14,765 yuan a ton while zinc touched a 5-1/2-month high at 18,025 yuan a ton. Lead scaled to its eight-month high at 15,530 yuan a ton.

* LME PRICES: Aluminum rose to its four-month high at US$ 1,696 a ton, nickel hit a five-month peak of US$ 13,580 a ton and zinc touched its highest since Feb. 7 at US$ 2,207.50 a ton.