Metals: Copper steadies as mine strike threat offsets dollar, oil strength
METALS-Copper steadies as mine strike threat offsets dollar, oil strength Updates prices
Sept 29 (Reuters) - Copper steadied on Tuesday as the prospect of a mining strike in top producer Chile offset concerns that a strong dollar and elevated oil prices will hurt demand, while aluminium sank to a more than one-month low.
Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.1% at $14,450 per metric ton, as of 1600 GMT. It lost 1.4% on Monday, hitting its lowest since September 17 on weak Chinese industrial profits data.
Despite signs of deteriorating economic growth due to the Iran war and oil LCOc1 above $100 a barrel, which are weighing on industrial metals, copper still has some upside risk, said Panmure Liberum analyst Tom Price.
"And that's really because the global market has been starved of inventory because it continues to be transferred into the US," Price said, adding that underperforming production in Chile was a secondary driver.
LME copper stocks MCUSTX-TOTAL dipped by 875 tons to 251,350 tons, although only around half are available to the market. In the US, COMEX inventories HG-STX-COMEX have risen for six straight days to over 700,000 metric tons for the first time as the possibility of an import tariff next year remains.
In Chile, workers at two unions at Antofagasta's ANTO.L Centinela copper mine rejected a collective contract offer on Monday, paving the way for a strike. Meanwhile, one of the unions at the giant Escondida mine last week rejected BHP's BHP.AX attempt to delay contract talks.
The dollar =USD tested several-month highs on Tuesday, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for investors using other currencies.
Traders are also awaiting manufacturing purchasing managers' data in China this week for further demand signals. Restocking ahead of the country's week-long National Day holiday from Thursday has largely been completed, analysts at Galaxy Futures said.
The LME complex was mixed. Aluminium CMAL3 was down 1.3% at $3,209 a ton, after hitting its lowest since August 27. Zinc CMZN3 gained 0.3% to $3,863.50 and tin CMSN3 added 0.3% to $53,930.
Lead CMPB3 dipped 0.2% to $1,898. Nickel CMNI3 shed 1.5% to $15,930, touching its lowest since September 16.
(Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar, Rashmi Aich, Jochelle Mendonca and Joyjeet Das)