(Reuters) – Miner and trader Glencore lowered its target for 2019 copper output following severe flooding in Australia as well as safety outages that led to a 7 percent year-on-year drop in production in the first quarter.
The news drove Glencore’s share price down 2.4 percent by 0845 GMT on Tuesday. First quarter copper production fell to 320,700 tonnes, missing BMO Capital Markets’ estimate by 11 percent, while cobalt output jumped 56 percent.
Glencore said it expects copper production for the year to be 1,460,000 tonnes, plus or minus 30,000 tonnes. It had earlier forecast approximately 1,540,000 tonnes.
This month, BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, and Rio Tinto, the second biggest listed miner, cut their forecasts for iron ore output after a tropical cyclone in Australia. Glencore also cited safety-related stoppages and smelter outages at Mopani copper mine in Zambia for its first quarter production shortfall.
In addition it narrowed its cobalt outlook, saying full year output should be 57,000 tonnes plus or minus 4,000 tonnes, versus plus or minus 5,000 tonnes previously.
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