BASE METALS

Copper supply continues to struggle

Copper supply constraints are expected to continue as leading miners reduce production guidance, according to analysts at New York-based Jefferies.

 Copper supply seen below expectations

Copper supply seen below expectations

A number of miners including Vale, Glencore, BHP, Antofagasta, First Quantum Minerals and Freeport McMoRan have reduced their copper production guidance for financial year 2022 by an average of 4.3%, according to Jefferies.

This was led by Vale, which lowered guidance to 270,000-285,000 tonnes of copper, down 19% from its previous guidance of 330,000-355,000t.

Glencore has reduced copper guidance by 7.8% to 1.03-1.09 million tonnes from previous guidance of 1.12 million-1.18Mt. 

BHP, Antofagasta, First Quantum, and Freeport McMoRan have cut guidance by between 2.3% and 4.8% on a mix of operational setbacks. 

Anglo American and Rio Tinto have retained their previous copper production guidances. 

Jefferies tracks production from miners that report volumes on a quarterly basis and accounts for around 70% of total global mined output. 

Copper production in leading supplier Chile was down 6% in the first half of this year to 2.626 million tonnes, year-on-year, Jefferies said. 

"Global copper mine supply remains well below expectations," said Jefferies. 

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