Production at Collahuasi, a joint venture of Anglo American and Glencore, dropped 12.4% on a year-on-year basis to 47,300 tonnes.Ĭopper output from Escondida, which is majority-owned by Australian miner BHP Group, fell 1.8% to 81,400 tonnes, Cochilco said. Meanwhile, Chile's copper production from state-owned giant Codelco fell 6.5% in July to reach 128,000 tonnes, government body Cochilco said last week. Workers at Ventanas port in Chile’s Valparaiso region also went on strike last month, delaying shipments. Later in the month, the supervisors’ union at Antofagasta’s Los Pelambres copper mine rejected the company’s latest offer and threatened to strike. In Chile, workers at BHP’s Escondida mine, the world’s largest copper mine, planned a stoppage at the beginning of September over safety concerns. Supply disruptions in South America continue to be in the spotlight for copper. A slowdown in China’s property market has weighed on the world’s biggest metal consumer for more than a year.Īround 23% of China's copper end-use comes from civil and building construction. There is speculation that the government may start to relax its strict approach to containing the virus.Ĭhina recently unveiled new measures aimed at reviving the country’s real estate industry, which could potentially boost the usage of industrial metals, including copper. The focus is now shifting to China’s 20th National Congress in Beijing, which will start on 16 October, with markets looking for a possible change in the country’s zero-Covid policy. The short-term demand outlook remains weak amid recession fears and weakening global manufacturing activity.
LME prices are now down around 30% from their peak in February following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when the three-month LME copper price reached $10,580/t. Copper has lost all the gains it made this year as inflation has climbed higher, interest rates have risen, and energy costs keep surging.Ĭovid-19 lockdowns in an already slowing Chinese economy have continued to dampen the demand outlook for the red metal, while the strong US dollar has weighed heavily on the markets this year.
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