July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose in New York for a second straight day as Grupo Mexico SA's Asarco Inc. suspended talks with striking workers and a strike at a Placer Dome Inc. mine in Chile entered a third day.

The strike at Asarco's Arizona operations expanded to its smelter in Amarillo, Texas, Terry Bonds, head of the United Steelworkers Union District 12 office, said in a telephone interview. Talks between Placer Dome and workers at the Zaldivar mine haven't been scheduled, both sides said. Copper inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange are at a 30-year low.

``The fact that we're having a resumption of this kind of problem would have an impact, even if the market were tranquil,'' said Jim Steel, vice president of commodities research at Refco Inc. in New York. ``Inventories are wafer thin. The strikes are having an exaggerated impact.''

Copper futures for September delivery rose 0.9 cent, or 0.6 percent, to $1.518 a pound at 9:12 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices gained 2.4 percent yesterday and have climbed 25 percent in the past year. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price by a specific date.

Asarco isn't ``bargaining with us in good faith,'' Bonds said in the interview. ``We voted to strike because of their unfair labor practices.''

Asarco halted negotiations after failing to reach an agreement with workers, Reuters reported, citing the company. Asarco Chief Executive Daniel Tellechea didn't immediately return a call for comment.

Global stockpiles fell 25 tons to 29,425 metric tons today, the LME said. They have dropped 40 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Itzenson in New York at jitzenson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 6, 2005 09:13 EDT