MARKET TALK: LME Copper Slips On Codelco Union Offer

Weakness in London Metal Exchange three-month copper comes from the news the main union at Codelco's Norte division will meet early to hear a management offer in labor talks, says BaseMetals analyst Will Adams. But this is strange given the copper market "seems to have paid little attention either to actual strikes or the possibility of them" over the last several months. "At these prices, we would not have thought there was too much potential strike-premium in the copper price," Adams adds. However, notes two unions representing over half the unionized workers won't meet early. LME copper trades last at $7,150 a metric ton, down from $7,405/ton overnight.