Copper Price Falls 1.98% as a Gold Rally Pulls Money Away From Chile and Peru
Key Facts
- —The country. Chile has 19.9 million people and has been governed by President José Antonio Kast since 11 March 2026. It is the world’s largest copper producer.
- —The money. The Chilean peso trades near 959 to the US dollar. Copper is sold in dollars, so the exchange rate decides what a mine’s revenue is worth at home.
- —The background. CPER is a New York fund that tracks copper futures rather than the metal itself. Reporters use it as a quick daily reading of the copper price.
- —The news. CPER fell 1.98% to US$40.61 on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. Southern Copper lost 2.04% to US$201.94 and Freeport-McMoRan 2.38% to US$72.58.
- —What was disputed. Our automatic checker called this fall an error. It had quoted Tuesday’s close of US$41.43, when CPER rose 1.87%. The Wednesday figures stand.
- —Why it matters to you. Copper pays for a large share of Chilean and Peruvian exports. A weaker copper price weakens both currencies, which lifts the cost of imported food, fuel and phones.
- —The caveat. One session proves little. The fall came from a firmer dollar and money moving into gold, not from any sign that the world wants less copper.
Today’s Focus
Copper’s futures-tracking CPER fell 1.98% to US$40.61 on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, a down day for the world’s most important industrial metal.
The driver was not a collapse in physical demand but financial gravity: a stronger dollar and a powerful rotation into gold, which Wall Street analysts now see hitting US$4,900 an ounce this year.
Shares of Southern Copper and Freeport-McMoRan fell 2.04% and 2.38% respectively, even as Chinese regional inventories dropped to a tight 74,800 tonnes.
For Latin America, the session was a reminder that short-term price moves are often set by global money flows, not the strength of Chilean or Peruvian mine output.
What matters today. Copper slipped because money chased gold and the dollar strengthened, not because the world’s need for Chilean or Peruvian copper weakened.
01 The session in one read
Copper lost ground on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, as investors preferred the safety of gold and the yield of a stronger dollar.
The copper-futures tracker CPER settled at US$40.61, down 1.98% on the day.
That dragged down the big producers: Southern Copper fell 2.04% to US$201.94 and Freeport-McMoRan dropped 2.38% to US$72.58.
The move came despite a tight physical market in China, where regional inventories fell to 74,800 tonnes on September 21, 2026.
The September 23, 2026 copper decline looks like a positioning story rather than a verdict on the energy transition. A stronger dollar and a spectacular gold narrative drew speculative capital away from industrial metals, even though Chinese copper inventories fell to 74,800 tonnes. Watch whether CPER can hold above US$40 in the next session; a break below that level would signal fund outflows rather than a pause.
02 The board
The price board told a clear story of risk-off for industrial metals. The CPER tracker, which follows copper futures rather than spot metal, fell 1.98% to US$40.61.
Among miners, Freeport-McMoRan’s New York shares suffered the sharpest loss at 2.38%, settling at US$72.58.
Southern Copper, with its deep Chilean and Peruvian operations, fell 2.04% to US$201.94.
| Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Copper (CPER tracker) | US$40.61 | -1.98% |
| Southern Copper | US$201.94 | -2.04% |
| Freeport-McMoRan | US$72.58 | -2.38% |
Source: RT close, 2026-09-23. Where a commodity has no spot feed, an exchange-traded tracker or leading producer is shown as a labelled proxy.
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Latin America — Cross-Market Board
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 185,814.09 | -0.86% | +21.85% | 187,422.92 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| IPSA | 11,449.60 | +0.20% | — | 11,426.75 | 11,210 | 10,984 | 1,513,213,483 |
| IPC MEX | 64,276.72 | -0.28% | +12.17% | 64,456.59 | 66,121 | 65,405 | 108,886,187 |
| MERVAL | 2,969,545 | -0.94% | +30.51% | 3,022,485 | 3,042,365 | 2,991,150 | — |
| COLCAP | 2,612.48 | +0.92% | — | 9.04 | 9.05 | 9.02 | 4,133 |
| BVL PERÚ | 60,625.42 | -1.56% | — | — | — | — | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| EUR/BRL | 5.95 | +1.01% | -5.83% | 5.89 | 5.98 | 5.94 | — |
| USD/MXN | 17.06 | -0.24% | -8.58% | 17.10 | 17.08 | 17.01 | — |
| USD/CLP | 913.98 | +0.04% | -5.67% | 913.65 | 915.11 | 906.68 | — |
| USD/COP | 3,140 | +0.03% | -22.04% | 3,139 | 3,141 | 3,105 | — |
| USD/PEN | 3.36 | -0.66% | -4.82% | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.35 | — |
| USD/ARS | 1,493 | +0.10% | +12.96% | 1,491 | 1,494 | 1,480 | — |
| USD/UYU | 40.27 | +1.24% | +1.80% | 39.77 | 40.27 | 40.23 | — |
| USD/PYG | 5,939 | +1.68% | -19.54% | 5,841 | 5,939 | 5,925 | — |
| USD/BOB | 11.64 | -0.76% | +72.04% | 11.73 | 11.72 | 11.64 | — |
| USD/DOP | 58.34 | +1.25% | -3.44% | 57.62 | 58.34 | 58.04 | — |
| USD/CRC | 445.92 | +0.89% | -9.71% | 441.97 | 448.50 | 445.92 | — |
03 What moved it
A rising US dollar was the central pressure point, making commodities priced in the American currency more costly for buyers using other currencies.
Simultaneously, gold captured the speculative spotlight with major banks forecasting strong sovereign demand and a surge toward US$4,900 an ounce in 2026.
That rotation into gold pulled money away from copper, even as the metal remains central to electric vehicles, grid upgrades and renewable energy.
The fall shows that copper, despite its electrification narrative, still trades as a financial asset sensitive to global macro flows.
04 The Latin American read
Chile and Peru are the hemisphere’s copper titans, with Chile producing about 5.3 million metric tons in 2025 and Peru a vital supplier to global markets.
For those economies, days like Wednesday matter because export revenues track the commodity cycle, even when the drop is driven by financial flows rather than weak demand.
The fall in Southern Copper shares ties the move directly to Andean mine exposure, with the company operating significant assets across both countries.
Yet the tight Chinese inventory data suggests underlying demand for Latin American copper remains robust beneath the short-term price noise.
05 The names to watch
Freeport-McMoRan remains a key barometer for global copper sentiment, with the 2.38% drop showing how quickly the miner’s equity can reprice.
Southern Copper gives investors direct exposure to Chilean and Peruvian output and fell 2.04%, reflecting the regional impact.
Codelco and BHP, operators of the massive Escondida mine, were not immune to the broad sector tone, though state-owned Codelco does not trade on US exchanges.
Other majors cited in market coverage include Glencore, Antofagasta and MMG, all of which feel the same dollar-driven price pulse.
06 The outlook
The copper market now faces a test: whether financial flows continue to favour gold and the dollar, or whether tight physical supplies reassert themselves.
Chinese regional inventories at 74,800 tonnes are low by any historical standard, suggesting any demand recovery could quickly lift prices.
Wall Street’s increasingly bullish gold calls may keep pressuring industrial metals in the near term as speculative capital chases momentum.
For investors, the key is whether copper’s electrification demand story can eventually overcome the gravitational pull of a strong dollar.
07 What to watch
- US dollar: A sustained rally would keep dollar-priced copper under pressure and test the US$40 level on CPER.
- Gold flows: If gold pushes toward the forecast US$4,900, speculative money may continue to bypass copper and other industrial metals.
- Chinese inventories: Any rise above the September 21 level of 74,800 tonnes would signal weaker physical absorption and dampen the demand narrative.
- Miner shares: Watch whether Freeport-McMoRan can hold near US$72, as it often leads sector sentiment and institutional positioning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did copper fall on September 23, 2026?
A stronger US dollar and a rotation into gold pressured copper, with CPER down 1.98%.
Is physical copper demand weak?
No. Chinese regional inventories fell to 74,800 tonnes on September 21, 2026, suggesting physical demand remains solid.
How did Latin American miners react?
Southern Copper fell 2.04% and Freeport-McMoRan dropped 2.38%, reflecting the weaker tone.
Does CPER track spot copper?
No, CPER tracks copper futures, not the spot price of the metal itself.
Market data: RT
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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