Copper hits 10-year high on supply concern, easing dollar

HANOI: Shanghai copper prices hit their highest in over 10 years while the London contract jumped to near a decade high on Monday as supply concerns and a weaker dollar boosted prices.

The dollar edged lower amid speculation US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will shun talk of tapering bond purchases at a policy meeting this week, making greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, a potential strike in top producer Chile threatened supply.

"We are in for a good run higher as we are having supply issues.

Chilean port workers threatening to strike, which is a short-term issue, but will cause some trouble for shipments into China in an already tight concentrate market," said commodities broker Anna Stablum of Marex Spectron.

"We are seeing some concerns about supply cuts in China due to environmental pressures," Stablum added.

The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit 71,130 yuan ($10,962.47) a tonne, a level unseen since March 2011.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 1.5% to $9,693 a tonne, its highest since August 2011.