Chile regulator: copper prices have likely peaked as US-China trade war looms

Reuters | April 7, 2025 | 6:45 am Markets Latin America Copper

Chile's Nov. copper output falls amid drops from Codelco and Escondida - Cochilco

BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco on Monday said that prices for the red metal have likely already peaked this year amid an escalating trade war, as US President Donald Trump threatened to further increase tariffs on China.

“Base metals, including copper, are likely to have peaked in 2025 as they will be negatively impacted by the trade dynamics between the US and China,” Cochilco said in a statement.

It added that average copper prices are forecast to stay above $4 per pound this year.

Cochilco said that if current economic and geopolitical conditions continue, its forecast would weaken.

“In this context, demand would slow down compared to the assumptions considered at the beginning of the year, which would compensate for the shortage of supply. This dynamic would support the price of the metal,” Cochilco added.

(By Fabian Cambero and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Kylie Madry)