The Chilean Copper Commission, Cochilco, raised its average price forecast for this year to $4.30 per lb on May 19, given an expected deficit of refined copper for the 2021-2022 period, it said.
Cochilco revised the price up from a prediction of $3.30 per lb in January 2021, with its executive vice president Marco Riveros citing the global deficit together with reduced inventories in metal exchanges as factors providing fundamental support to the price.The commission projected world demand for refined copper in 2021 to hit 24.2 million tonnes, a 3.4% increase from 2020. While copper mine production is also set to expand, Cochilco said that the copper market...