Southwire Co., the privately-held wire and cable manufacturer, has asked a U.S. court to review a regulatory decision that cleared the way for BlackRock’s planned exchange-traded fund backed by copper.
The Carrollton, Georgia-based company said that the order by the Securities and Exchange Commission in February will “lead to an investor-financed squeeze of the market” for copper, according to a petition dated April 18 with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. The company said it will seek to have the SEC decision vacated.
Southwire is among industrial users who have said that copper ETFs would leave less of the metal available for manufacturers, creating shortages and boosting prices. The company has also opposed JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s JPM XF Physical Copper Trust, the first U.S. exchange-traded fund backed by physical metal, which won SEC approval in December.
BlackRock proposed to start trading the iShares Copper Trust on NYSE Arca Inc.
Melissa Garville, a BlackRock spokeswoman, declined to comment because the product still is in registration.
