NEW YORK — Market participants opposed to the launch of physical copper exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been denied a request to present their views orally to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC said.

With a decision imminent on whether to approve the physical copper ETFs proposed by subsidiaries of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BlackRock Inc., both of New York, the SEC said that oral presentations of the opponents’ views wouldn’t help them in their decision.

"The commission does not believe that its determination of any issues relevant to its approval or disapproval would be facilitated by the opportunity for an oral presentation of views," deputy secretary Kevin O’Neill said.

Various copper companies—including Southwire Co., Carrollton, Ga.; Encore Wire Corp., McKinney, Texas; London-based Luvata UK Ltd.; and AmRod Corp., Newark, N.J.; and metals-focused hedge fund RK Capital Management LLC, London—have requested a meeting to discuss the situation with the regulator several times.

They believe that the SEC’s analysis of ETFs and their potential impact on the copper market, published last month (amm.com, Nov. 9), is fundamentally flawed, calling it "simple, inaccurate and incomplete."

The SEC has set a deadline of Dec. 14 to issue a decision on the JPMorgan ETF and Dec. 24 for the BlackRock product.