RI mine shuts, copper rises

RI mine shuts, copper rises

LONDON (Bloomberg): Copper yesterday rose from its lowest price in a month on expectations that a stronger yen would spur buying in Japan, while a strike at the world's second-largest copper mine cut output.

Japan, the world's second-largest copper consumer behind the U.S., buys more metal when the yen gains because the dollar- priced metal becomes cheaper.

Also, a strike by workers demanding higher wages halted work for a second day at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg, Indonesia, mine.

The Grasberg strike hasn't had a big impact yet because they can sell from stockpiles, but people are keeping an eye on it," said Karen Norton, a base metals analyst at Billiton Metals Ltd in London.

The London Metal Exchange benchmark three-month copper contract rose US$5, or 0.3 percent, to $1,620 a metric ton (73.48 cents a pound). Yesterday, the contract closed at its lowest price since July 10.