Copper slips as Peru mine blockade seen ending

LONDON — Copper prices slipped on Tuesday, under pressure from a stronger dollar and signs that a blockade of a mine in Peru may end after government intervention, which eased supply concerns.

The Peruvian government offered a deal to indigenous protesters to lift their blockade of Chinese miner MMG Ltd.’s Las Bambas copper mine in the Andean region.

A decision is pending agreement from the community.

The protesters have blocked roads to the mine, which produces about two percent of global copper output, since early February, demanding compensation from MMG for using a stretch of road on their farmland.

“The stoppage could be impacting sentiment a little bit but we are all factoring in that the mine will be back up and running,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Colin Hamilton.

“The concentrate side is still tightening up with Las Bambas out, but there is enough refined inventory to cover needs.”

Benchmark copper ended 0.7% lower at $6,426.50 per ton, its second straight session of decline as it retreats from a one-week high touched on Monday.

Meanwhile, the US dollar rose against a basket of major currencies following relatively upbeat data from the United States.

A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for non-US firms, which is a relationship used by funds to generate buy and sell signals.

On-warrant stocks in LME-approved warehouses available to the market inched down 1,100 tons to 143,375 tons, but are still up nearly seven-fold from 21,600 tons in February.

Steel consumption in the Philippines is likely to rise by 5-6% this year to a record 11.1 million tons as the country’s economy continues to grow, the head of an industry group told Reuters on Monday.

Korea Zinc, Inc. and Teck Resources Ltd. have agreed annual concentrate treatment charges of about $245 a ton, 67% higher than last year, as mine supply ramps up, two industry sources said.

Among other industrial metals, LME aluminum fell 0.6% to $1,889; zinc slid 2.6% to $2,856 in a retreat from nine-month highs; lead fell 1.8% to $1,985; tin slipped 1.3% to $21,195; and nickel shed 0.3% to $13,090 per ton.