Despite remaining the world’s largest copper producer, Chile is recording its worst production of the red metal for the month of November since 2008, according to an article published by Bloomberg.
“This situation highlights supply constraints, in a still tight metals market,” said James Attwood, author of the article and Bloomberg commodities specialist.
Production reported by mines operated by companies including BHP Group and state company Codelco for the month was 5.4% lower than a year earlier, data released on Friday shows.
Chile represents more than a quarter of the world production of the metal. The government is forecasting a 5.8% drop for the year amid deteriorating ore quality, water restrictions due to a prolonged drought and a series of operational setbacks at Codelco.
The Bloomberg analyst argues that, while this is bad news for a country trying to finance greater social spending, the fall in production is precisely one of the reasons why copper prices have recovered after falling in the first semester of the year.
With information from Bloomberg