• Print
• E-Mail

Copper prices fell on Tuesday as the strike at Codelco in Chile ended after more than 20 days of protests from labor subcontract workers.

Copper futures for July delivery fell 6.9 cents or 1.75 percent to $3.8785 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange today. Prices rose to record highs of $4.2605 a pound on Monday on worries that the strike in Chile would diminish significantly supplies of the metal.

Late on Monday the union agreed to a government proposal to settle the strike including a pledge by state owned Codelco to absorb many of the workers into its full-time ranks, as well as the payment of a 500,000 peso or $1,067 bonus agreed last year. Futures started to lose in overnight electronic trading.

As a result of the agreement workers resumed operations at El Teniente and El Salvador mines which remained closed until Monday halting production of copper.

Inventories of copper monitored in the London Metal Exchange climbed 25 tonnes at 109,650 tonnes on Tuesday while COMEX copper stocks remained at 10,827 short tons on Monday.

Copper for delivery in three months rose $195.5, or 2.35 percent, to $8,511.50 a metric ton in the London Metal Exchange. The metal is up 28 percent this year.