Copper lures buyers as New York futures hover above $4/lb
Copper futures edged higher in London and New York as tentative signs of buying interest emerged following a string of losses.
Russian diamond monopoly Alrosa may use the spoils of high diamond prices to develop an asset in northwest Russia rather than let a foreign miner such as Rio Tinto onto its territory, a source close to the company said.
The source said on Tuesday high diamond prices meant Alrosa had enough cash to finance development of the Sevalmaz project by itself. Russian business daily Vedomosti reported in December that it could sell a 49% stake to the global miner for almost $400 million.
“‘A loss-making project is turning into a profitable one. Financial results show that Alrosa could easily develop it by itself, so all of these discussions should reconsidered,’ the source said.”
