South American copper supply remains weak – Commerzbank

The price of copper has recovered slightly in recent days, notes Barbara Lambrecht, commodities analyst at Commerzbank.

Manufacturing expected to recover only 3%

“Market reports indicate an improved demand outlook. On the one hand, the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) revised down its production targets for Chile, which remains the most important producing country. After copper output fell to a 20-year low last year, the commission estimated output of 5.5 million tonnes for this year.”

“Due to disappointing ore volumes, production is now expected to recover by only 3% to 5.4 million tonnes. This is in line with news that the state-owned producer reported a nearly 11% drop in output in July, following an 8.4% drop in the first half of the year. Actual production in Peru also appears to be below expectations.”

“The country, which is now only the world’s third largest copper supplier behind the rise of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is likely to fall short of the 3 million tonne target with an estimated annual output of 2.8 million tonnes governmental. .”