Jan 23 (Reuters) - Copper prices firmed on Friday amid supply concerns after miner Capstone Copper and a local union said a strike forced a production halt at the company's Chilean Mantoverde mine.
The most-traded copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 0.32% to 101,020 yuan ($14,507.49) a metric ton as of 0330 GMT, but was set to end the week down 1.15%.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 gained 1.01% to $12,884.50 a ton.
The strike began after the mine's largest union and Capstone CS.TO failed to reach a collective bargaining agreement, halting production at the mine, which was forecast to produce between 29,000 and 32,000 metric tons of copper cathodes in 2025.
Meanwhile, copper miner Freeport-McMoRan FCX.N said on Thursday that it expected about 85% of production at its flagship Grasberg mine, the world's second biggest copper mine, to be back online by the second half of this year.
A deadly mud-flow killed several workers and shut the mine in October 2025, sparking supply fears and triggering a copper rally.
Metal prices were also supported by a weaker U.S. dollar. The dollar index =USD registered its biggest one-day fall in six weeks on Thursday, making greenback-denominated commodities cheaper for investors using other currencies.
Anxieties over Greenland also faded after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back tariff threats against European goods and ruled out taking over Greenland by force.
Elsewhere, tin and nickel led the gains on both the London and Shanghai exchanges. Indonesia's recent move to reduce 2026 nickel ore mining quotas, as well as a military-backed crackdown on illegal mining activities continued to unnerve the industry.
The most-active tin on SHFE SSNcv1 jumped 4.22% to 427,180 yuan a ton, and the Shanghai nickel SNIcv1 climbed 3.17% to 146,840 yuan.
The London benchmark tin CMCU3 rose 3.50% to $53,695 a ton, and nickel CMNI3 increased 2.86% to $18,510.
Among other SHFE base metals, aluminium SAFcv1 rose 0.85%, zinc SZNcv1 added 0.92% and lead SPBcv1 posted sole loss at 0.15%.
LME aluminium CMAL3 added 0.21%, zinc CMZN3 rose 0.73% and lead CMPB3 was up 0.25%.
Friday, January 23
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Retail Sales MM, YY Dec
0700 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM Dec
0745 France Business Climate Mfg, Overall Jan
0815 France HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan
0830 Germany HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan
0900 EU HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan
0930 UK HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Jan
1445 US S&P Global Mfg, Svcs, Comp PMIs Flash Jan
1500 US U Mich Sentiment Final Jan
: : EU Consumer Confid. Flash Jan
: : Japan JP BOJ Rate Decision 23 Jan
($1 = 6.9633 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Dylan Duan; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
((Dylan.Duan@thomsonreuters.com))
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