Copper Falls Most in Five Weeks as Miners in Peru End Walkout

By Millie Munshi

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Copper fell the most in five weeks after workers ended a strike in Peru, the world's third-largest source of the metal.

Peruvian miners called off the week-long national strike while talks with government officials over profit-sharing and pensions continue, Deputy Labor Minister Jorge Villasante said yesterday. Copper rose 1.8 percent last week as the strike threatened supplies of the metal used in pipes and wires.

Copper has fallen ``with the end of the miners strike in Peru on Sunday weighing on prices,'' analysts at Barclays Capital said today in a report.

Copper futures for September delivery fell 11.05 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $3.8385 a pound at 9:16 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price fell as much as 3.7 percent, the biggest intraday decline since May 29.

The metal also dropped today as the strengthening dollar eroded demand for commodities as a hedge against inflation. The dollar rose as much as 0.6 percent against a basket of the euro, yen and four other major currencies

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months fell $30.50, or 0.4 percent, to $8,442 a metric ton ($3.83 a pound). The price reached a record $8,940 on July 2.

To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in New York at mmunshi@bloomberg.net