BEIJING, July 25 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper rose 2 percent
to a three-week high in early trade on Wednesday, tracking a
rise in London Metal Exchange (LME) prices on Tuesday amid tense
negotiations at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's
largest.
Speculation last month about a possible strike at Escondida
pushed London copper to a near 4 1/2-year high of $7,348 a tonne
on June 7, before fears that a U.S.-China trade war could crimp
demand pushed the price below $6,000 tonne last week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* SHFE COPPER: The most-traded September copper contract on
the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 2.2
percent to 50,270 yuan ($7,395) a tonne, the highest since July
5, and was up 1.8 percent at 50,070 a tonne as of 0140 GMT.
* LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the LME edged
down 0.3 percent to $6,278 a tonne, after a 2.7 percent jump in
the previous session.
* CHILE: BHP's Escondida copper mine in
Chile said on Tuesday it had made a final offer in talks with
the union representing its rank-and-file workers that includes a
beefed up contract signing bonus and a 1.5 percent increase in
wages.
* OTHER METALS: The Shanghai base metals complex was up
across the board, with zinc and nickel both
gaining more than 1 percent.
* DRC: A computer system used by customs officials in
Democratic Republic of Congo had technical problems at the
weekend, adding to delays to mining trucks carrying copper and
cobalt, sources and officials said on Tuesday. {nL5N1UK2X2]
* BRAZIL: Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro
said the timing for resuming full output at its
Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil remained uncertain, with the
possibility it could be achieved between October and the middle
of next year.
