Copper Pulls Back Ahead of Trump's Address
February 28 2017 - 7:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Ed Ballard
LONDON--Copper prices fell on Tuesday ahead of a policy speech
by Donald Trump that could shed light on the government's plans for
infrastructure spending.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract was down
0.3% at $5,921.50 a metric ton.
The day's main event promises to be President Trump's address to
Congress. Any specific proposals on infrastructure investment may
shift the market's perceptions of supply and demand for metals.
Commentary on economic policy more generally may indirectly
influence metals markets by moving the dollar and changing the cost
of dollar-priced commodities.
Brokerage firm Marex Spectron said copper is "like a deer in
headlights, " potentially vulnerable to a reversal if a labor
dispute at the world's largest copper mine in Chile is resolved, or
if speculators quickly sell their sizable bullish position in the
futures market.
But Marex said concerns over supply, combined with declining
stocks of metal in LME warehouses, are keeping the market supported
for now.
Workers are striking over pay at the Escondida mine in Chile,
majority-owned by BHP Billiton Ltd., while Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is
locked in a standoff with the Indonesian government over permission
to export copper concentrate produced at the Grasberg mine.
Aluminium was up 0.1% at $1,899.50 a ton, lead was up 0.8% at
$2,277 a ton, tin was up 0.7% at $19,150 a ton and zinc was up 0.6%
at $2,827.50 a ton. Nickel was down 0.5% at $10,975 a ton.
Write to Ed Ballard at ed.ballard@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 28, 2017 07:02 ET (12:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
