Copper prices up on supply concerns

Copper prices were higher Wednesday on concerns that supplies from Mexico won’t improve in the foreseeable future after Grupo Mexico said that it has not yet set a time for the reopening of Cananea mine, which has been closed for a year due to a strike.

Negotiations have been complicated by the fact that the union’s leader has been accused of corruption and the union no longer recognizes the Mexican government as an intermediary in negotiations because, the union says, it favors the company.

September copper added 6 cents to $3.65 per pound in New York, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained $104 to $8,035 per tonne on the session.

Precious metals were mixed, with September silver up 8 cents to $17.45 per troy ounce even as December gold fell $14.10 to $912.30 per troy ounce as the dollar strengthened in relation to the euro and October platinum dropped $7.30 to $1,738.10 per troy ounce on fears that the slump in sales of motor vehicles will hurt demand for the metal that is used in the manufacture of pollution-control devices.