Panama eyes export of First Quantum’s stockpiled copper
Shuttered Cobre Panama mine had accounted for about 1.5% of global copper production and about 4% of Panama’s gross domestic product.
The global copper market is expected to see a deficit of about 325,000 tonnes this year and a surplus of 155,000 tonnes in 2023, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said on Wednesday.
“Continued covid-19 related restrictions and workforce absenteeism, operational and geotechnical issues, strikes, water restrictions in Chile, lower than expected head grades, and community actions in Peru have constrained mine output at a number of operations this year,” it said in a release.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading around $7,363 a tonne on Wednesday having declined more than 30% on growing recession fears since scaling a record peak of $10,845 in March.
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
World apparent refined copper usage is expected to increase by about 2.2% in 2022 and 1.4% in 2023, the ICSG said.
“A deterioration in the global economic outlook, mainly as a consequence of elevated energy prices and high inflation has resulted in a downward revision to refined usage growth for both 2022 and 2023,” the Group said.
World refined copper production is forecast to rise by about 2.8% in 2022 and 3.3% in 2023, the ICSG said.
(By Kavya Guduru; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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