Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco increased its forecast for copper prices for 2025 and 2026 to record highs on Wednesday amid weak production.
Cochilco now sees average copper prices in 2025 of $4.45 per pound and hiked its 2026 forecast to $4.55 per pound, both from a prior view of $4.30 per pound.
The forecasts are the highest copper price estimates ever projected by the copper commission, which also expects the price of the metal to remain on an upward trend at least until 2030 as supply lags demand, said Victor Garay, Cochilco’s mining market coordinator.
He also pointed out that risks for the metal such as tariff adjustments or a change in the demand trend are still prevalent.
A copper price hike had been expected due to production constraints in Chile, the world’s largest miner of the red metal.
Cochilco said weak performance at the giant Collahuasi mine, a partnership between Anglo American and Glencore, lower production of Anglo American Sur and an accident at Codelco’s flagship mine, El Teniente, contributed to lower supply.
Cochilco expects Chilean copper production to grow just 0.1% to 5.51 million metric tons this year, with a 2.5% increase in 2026 reaching 5.6 million metric tons.
Other operations will compensate for the lower production at El Teniente going forward, and the country should reach 5.9 million metric tons in 2027, Garay said.
Demand for copper will continue to grow, although with less dynamism, according to Cochilco.
(By Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Bill Berkrot)
