Decision to strike sends copper higher -
By Mark Shenk
Bloomberg News
Friday, June 29, 2007
NEW YORK: Copper made its biggest gain in two weeks Thursday
on concern that strikes in Chile, the world's largest source
of the metal, would disrupt global supplies.
Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, said that
a strike by contract workers had reduced output at mines and
a smelter in Chile.
A union at Doña Inés de Collahuasi, one of the largest
copper mines in Chile, voted Wednesday to strike next month.
In May 2006, the metal rose to a record high price as
labor unrest and mine accidents disrupted production.
"The more strikes we get, the higher copper goes," said
Darren Stoody, futures trading director at Omnisource
in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Copper futures for September delivery gained 7.45 cents
to $3.4275 a pound on the Comex division of
the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Workers also began striking Saturday at some
Peruvian facilities owned by Southern Copper.
The company said Wednesday that it would hold talks
with workers in a bid to halt the strike.
Crude oil jumped above $70 a barrel Thursday to a
nine-month high on signs that U.S. supplies would slip
as refineries increased output of gasoline and other
fuels, but slipped slightly in the course of trading.
Refineries operated at 89.4 percent of capacity last week,
a 1.8 percentage point gain from the week before, a U.S.
Energy Department report released Wednesday showed.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil, or WTI, the grade traded
in New York, was at the lowest discount to Brent oil in
more than three months.
"On the crude side, the perception is that with refineries coming back we will start seeing supplies fall," said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president of global energy futures at Macquarie Futures USA in New York. "A lot of the strength you are seeing in WTI today may be due to traders moving away from Brent."
Crude oil for August delivery rose 60 cents to $69.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During the session, futures touched $70.09, the highest level since Sept. 1, 2006. Prices are down 3.3 percent from a year ago.
Brent crude oil for August settlement slipped 1 cent to $70.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Brent had usually been higher than WTI this year as crude-oil supplies in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York futures, rose. Brent, which is produced in the North Sea, has also been pushed higher by threats to supplies coming from Iran and Nigeria.
"The WTI discount has come down from more than $6.50 a month ago," Barakat said. "A lot of geopolitical worry about Iran and Nigeria that contributed to the run-up of Brent is being taken out of the market."
Most Middle East, African and European grades are priced in relation to Brent.
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btw.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report Washington is considering
deploying the fourth US carrier for the region in the Red Sea
opposite Saudi Arabian western coast to secure the three
US carriers in the Gulf from the rear as well as
the Gulf of Aqaba and Suez Canal.
investorshub.com
What do you think about higher Gold - energy prices?
Imo. Tia. |
