Copper Vulnerable to Supply Shock as Giant Mine Faces Strike
- Hedge funds boosted bearish bets as trade war clouds outlook
- Traders were net-long going into 44-day strike last year
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Copper bears could get caught wrong-footed as a strike looms at the world’s biggest mine.
In the U.S., hedge funds’ bearish bets outnumber bullish wagers by the most since 2016, latest government data show. The top brokers on the Shanghai Futures Exchange boosted their net-short position by more than half. Sentiment has turned increasingly negative even as BHP Billiton Ltd. and workers at its Escondida mine in Chile approach the end of a government-led mediation, after wage talks failed. A strike could start as early as Tuesday.