Copper Climbs as China Reopens and Chile Mine Strike Tightens Supply

Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 1.2% on Thursday, climbing immediately after China's main bourse opened. Other major LME contracts rallied alongside it, and iron ore futures in Singapore joined the move.

By 10:22 a.m. Singapore time, copper was up 1% at $14,617.50 a ton. Zinc climbed 1.3% and aluminium added 0.7%. Iron ore futures in Singapore rose 0.5% to $91.95 a ton.

Strike at Antofagasta's Centinela

Copper is also drawing support from a strike at a key mine in Chile. Two unions at Antofagasta Plc's Centinela project began action on Wednesday and said the walkout would start affecting production within about two weeks.

The operation has maintained feed to its processing plants, but much of its mine movement and development has stopped, the unions said. Antofagasta earlier said projected output remained unchanged.

Fed rate path and the China demand question

Traders are also watching the US Federal Reserve's interest rate path, pricing in a 20% chance of further tightening in October and an 80% chance in December. Higher borrowing costs typically curb investor demand for commodities, which bear no interest.

The red metal is still consolidating after rising to a record last month on concerns that US tariffs on refined copper would lead to a rush of supplies to America and cause a squeeze elsewhere.

Crucial to the outlook now is demand from China, the world's biggest consumer, where recent data has pointed to industrial weakness.

What it means for Nigerian buyers

Nigeria does not mine copper at commercial scale, so cable manufacturers, transformer and electrical equipment assemblers, and construction firms buy the metal on the world market. A firmer copper price flows straight into their input costs, and because the metal is priced in dollars, importers absorb the hit twice when the naira is also under pressure.

Iron ore is the other number to watch. It feeds steel production, which drives construction costs across the country. A sustained rally in both metals would raise the cost of imported raw materials for Nigerian manufacturers who are already managing tight margins.