Copper Rises as Mine Disruption Fuels Bets on Smaller Surplus
This article is for subscribers only.
Copper prices rose for the second time in three days on speculation that reduced production at a BHP Billiton Ltd. mine in Australia will mean a smaller global surplus.
BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, said on Feb. 13 that as much as 70,000 metric tons of output may be lost after an electrical failure in a mill at the Olympic Dam site. Analysts at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. had forecast supply would exceed demand this year by 120,000 tons. Copper in January posted the biggest monthly drop in three years on the outlook for ample production.