Investing.com - Copper prices rallied to a three-week high on Wednesday, amid concerns over a disruption to global supplies following a deadly earthquake in Chile.
Chile is the world’s biggest producer of the red metal, providing almost a third of the world's supply.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper for May delivery rose to a session high of $3.071 a pound, the most since March 9.
Copper last traded at $3.051 a pound during European morning hours, up 0.53%, or 1.6 cents. Copper picked up 0.3%, or 0.9 cents, on Tuesday to settle at $3.034 a pound.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.990 a pound, the low from March 28 and resistance at $3.077 a pound, the high from March 9.
A major earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of Chile late Tuesday, triggering a tsunami and leading to five deaths.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck about 100 kilometers northwest of the mining port of Iquique near the Peruvian border.
Iquique is a key copper exporting port, close to Chile's main copper mines, but key mining firms said there was no serious damage to their operations.
State-owned miner Codelco reported no harm to its workers or mines, and said its operations in northern Chile were normal.
Chile's Collahuasi copper mine and port had no immediate problems following the quake, chief executive Jorge Gomez said.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for June delivery rose 0.33%, or $4.20 cents, to trade at $1,284.20 a troy ounce, while silver for May delivery advanced 0.88%, or 17.4 cents, to trade at $19.86 an ounce.
The U.S. is to release the ADP report on private sector job creation for March later in the session. The report comes ahead of Friday's monthly government jobs report that is expected to show a gain of 197,000 new jobs in March.
Comex gold prices have been under heavy selling pressure in recent weeks as upbeat U.S. economic data underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to raise rates sooner than previously thought.
On Monday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that there is still room for the central bank to help the economy and reiterated that the Fed’s commitment to economic stimulus will still be needed for some time.