Chile reduces copper price forecast for 2019

Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, cut copper price projection of 2019 from US$3.05 to US$2.89 a pound as the demand from China, the world’s biggest copper consumer, fell.

In its quarterly report, the Chilean Copper Commission (COCHILCO) also reduced forecast of copper price in Chile for 2020 from US$3.08 to US$2.90 per pound, the statement said.

The drop is because China “is experiencing a cycle of the economic downturn that has undermined short-term demand expectations,” the statement said.

According to Cochilco, this was exacerbated by “global macroeconomic and geopolitical tensions that reduced world growth projections,” primarily due to a trade war between China and the United States.

For Cochilco, a deficit of 197,000 tons of refined copper, equivalent to 0.8% of annual consumption, is expected for this year.

The company says it expects global copper production of about 20.85m tons this year, down 0.4% compared to 2018, driven by decreased production in China and Indonesia.

The projected world demand for copper this year is 23.98m tons, an increase of 0.9% over 2018. Chile is expected to end 2019 with a production of about 5.8m tons, similar to the level last year.

The following Chilean Copper Commission graph shows copper export trend of Chile since January 2015:

Source: Mercopress

Sharing is caring!