Shanghai copper reaches six-month high following Freeport's Indonesian force majeure
Shanghai copper reached a six-month-high on Thursday, after Freeport McMoran declared force majore at its Indonesia Grasberg Mine. Traders priced in further shortages of raw materials.
Freeport announced on Wednesday that a phased restart could occur in the first six months of 2026 and that the output of the Grasberg mine, which is one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world, may be 35% less than the previous estimates.
Grasberg's operations have been temporarily suspended following a large amount of wet material blocking access to certain underground areas of the mine at the beginning of this month.
Since the suspension of production, the market has begun to price in a certain tightness in raw copper material. The latest development supports further upward movement.
The most traded copper contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 2.86% by 0310 GMT to trade at 11,545.64 yuan per metric ton ($82,280), the highest level since the 26th of March.
Analysts at Chinese broker Jinrui Futures stated in a report that the affected output volume of Grasberg was much higher than expected. This supports a stronger price outlook for Copper in the short-term.
By 0310 GMT, the benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metals Exchange had dropped by 0.57%. It was now $10,277.5 per ton. On Wednesday, it reached a new 15-month record.
Nickel rose by 1.28% among other SHFE base-metals, while aluminium gained 0.34%. Zinc grew 0.11%. Lead grew 0.23%. Tin climbed 0.74%.
The LME also saw a slight dip in aluminium, while zinc fell 0.75%. Nickel was up 0.28%. Tin was up 0.13%. Lead was not affected. ($1 = 7.1265 Chinese Yuan Renminbi)
(source: Reuters)
