Chile’s copper exports dropped 6.5% in first quarter

Chile’s copper exports fell 6.5% to US$10.5 billion in the first three months of 2012 from $11.2 billion in the same period last year, according to figures compiled by the country’s Central Bank.

In March alone, the world’s top copper producer’s exports of the red metal dropped 16.1% to $3.62 billion from $4.32 billion year-on-year.

During the first quarter, copper accounted for 90.2% of Chile’s mining exports, which fell 4.3% year-on-year to $11.6 billion from $12.1 billion.

At the beginning of this year, copper prices reached its biggest quarterly increase since late 2010. However, prices remain well under the all-time high of $10,190 per tonne hit in February 2011, which boosted March 2011 copper export revenue.