Canada’s move to protect mining sector shields takeover targets
Teck Resources spent much of last year fending off Glencore’s $23 billion takeover attempt before the Swiss company opted instead to just buy the company’s steelmaking coal business.
The copper price rebounded Monday afternoon after hitting the lowest since November 2022.
Prices for the metal slumped as much as 1.2% to $7,856 a ton Monday morning on the London Metal Exchange, the lowest in 11 months.
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
However, by 1:38 pm EST, copper for delivery in December had risen by 0.8% on the Comex market in New York, reaching $3.59 per pound ($7,889 per tonne).
LME-tracked stockpiles of the metal jumped to the highest since October 2021 last week.
“Metals are under pressure for reasons which include China property and demand and the what looks to be an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East,” a metals trader told Reuters.
Fears that the Israel-Hamas war could mushroom into a wider Middle East conflict rose on Sunday with Washington warning of a significant risk to US interests in the region as ally Israel pounded Gaza and clashes on its border with Lebanon intensified.
The pressure on copper has also intensified as soaring interest rates and persistent anxiety about Federal Reserve policy spur a rally in the dollar, which makes raw materials more expensive for buyers in other currencies.
(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)
