Supply disruptions in Chile and worries over future copper production from Peru sent copper prices higher Monday.
The most actively traded contract, for July delivery, rose 0.75 cents, or 0.2%, to $4.1420 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
June-delivery copper ended up 0.70 cents, or 0.2%, at $4.1370 a pound.
Continued supply disruptions at Chile's El Teniente copper mine drew investors to the red metal. Chilean state miner Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile, or Codelco, continued to operate El Teniente at 40% of capacity Monday after slowing down its operations late Friday amid contract-worker protests.
"The strike already began the week before last week, but has now strengthened and even escalated to incidents of violence," said analysts at Commerzbank.
El Teniente is Codelco's second-largest mine, and produces about 400,000 metric tons of copper a year.
Copper traders also are keeping an eye on Peru, where left-wing nationalist Ollanta Humala has claimed victory over center-right Congresswoman Keiko Fujimori in a run-off vote Sunday. Humala has called for greater resource nationalism in the world's second-largest producer of copper and the largest producer of silver, sparking concerns among investors.
"In spite of his softening stance, his apparent victory has nevertheless resulted in sharp falls in some of the country's mining stocks and heightened fears over future investment in the country's mining industry," Standard Bank base metals analyst Leon Westgate wrote in a note to clients.
Copper gains were muted, however, as China's copper trading hub, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, was closed Monday in observance of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
"There's not a lot of volume today since we're not seeing Asian participation," said Ralph Preston, analyst at Heritage West Financial.
Preston is expecting copper prices to peak at $4.21, but he added, "until we get a close under the $4.05 [level] the market is going to maintain a positive disposition."
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