Copper climbs to 2-week high as top producer Chile shuts borders

HANOI: Copper prices touched a two-week high on Tuesday, as leading producer Chile's decision to close its borders amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases worsened supply concerns in an already tight market.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.6% to $9,104 a tonne, its highest since March 23.

The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also hit its highest in two weeks, advancing as much as 2.3% to 67,670 yuan ($10,330.82) a tonne.

Chile closed its borders and tightened an already strict lockdown last week to slow the spread of COVID-19 as cases climbed past 1 million.

"While the mining industry has been able to cope relatively well to date, this does present another headwind for supply," said ANZ analysts in a note.

Also supporting prices were data that showed recovery in China's services sector speed in March as firms hired more workers and business optimism surged.

Tin prices was up 3.3% to $25,940 a tonne in London and 2.2% to 184,170 yuan a tonne in Shanghai at 0534 GMT on supply worries after China restricted movements in a border city with Myanmar as COVID-19 cases rose.

Myanmar is the world's third-biggest miner of tin and in 2020 accounted for more than 95% of imports of tin concentrate into China, the world's biggest metals consumer.

FUNDAMENTALS

LME aluminium rose 0.8% to $2,243.50 a tonne, LME nickel advanced 2.1% to $16,555 a tonne, while ShFE nickel was up 1.9% at 125,170 yuan a tonne.

Chile's Codelco, the world's top copper miner, increased its output of the red metal by 2.1% year-on-year in February to 122,800 tonnes, state copper commission Cochilco said.