Shanghai copper prices rose 1.4 percent on Friday, following gains in London as industrial action buoyed sentiment, but concerns over slackening China demand curbed further rises The most-active September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen 860 yuan to 63,410 yuan per tonne.
"At these prices, consumers are just not prepared to pay, so demand is weakening," said a Shanghai-based trader. "The spot market is very weak at the moment." Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange was at $7,530, down $11 from $7,541 on Thursday, when it rallied by $161.
Workers at Chile's Collahuasi copper mine voted to go on strike after rejecting a wage deal from management ahead of the current contract expiry on June 30. The strike could begin would be July 3. Also in Chile, state copper miner Codelco expects to resume talks with subcontractor workers who have been protesting all week for higher pay and improved working conditions.
On Thursday, the subcontractors blocked access to an electrowinning plant at Codelco's Radomiro Tommie mine in northern Chile, although the company said production was not affected.
A strike at Strata's Canadian Copper Refinery in Montreal entered its third week, with talks unlikely until after a national holiday on July 2. In other metals, three-month aluminium declined to $2,731 from the previous close of $2,740, while zinc was at $3,350 against the close of $3,380.
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