Escondida Strike Risk Heats Up as BHP Contract Offer Rejected
The Escondida copper mine in Chile is on the brink of a strike after the supervisors' union rejected BHP's latest contract offer, citing 'lacking key elements'. The union has called for its members to vote against the proposal from September 28-30. If approved, a five-day government mediation process will begin before a potential legal strike can commence.
The LME copper price settled at $14,615.5/mt on Thursday, down 1.13% from the previous day's close. The SHFE copper 2610 contract ended at 110,770 yuan/mt, a decline of 0.5%. Trading volume reached 19,700 lots for LME and 23,700 lots for SHFE.
Spot premiums in Shanghai remain high due to tight supply, with prices expected to pull back today. In Guangdong, spot #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract was quoted at a premium of 1,400 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.