July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose to a four-week high in New York on speculation an extended strike at Asarco Inc. will accelerate a decline in inventories.
London Metal Exchange-monitored stockpiles have dropped 45 percent this year to a 31-year low as global production from mines and scrap yards fell short of demand. Grupo Mexico SA said on July 4 that the strikes at its Asarco unit's mines in Arizona and plants in the state and in Texas may reduce output by 50 percent this month.
The strike, heading into its third week, ``could just drive the price higher, given there's so little inventory,'' said James Holme, president of H&H Metals Corp., a New York-based trading company. Traders who sold contracts expecting prices to decline are ``skittish,'' he said.
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