Freeport Says Copper Cuts Not Enough to End Surplus in 2016
- A new wave of mining expansions means demand is lagging output
- Market set to shift to deficit from next year, Targhetta says
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Copper-output cuts spurred by lower prices aren’t enough to end a surplus this year and demand won’t catch up with supply until 2017, according to a senior official at Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the largest publicly traded producer of the metal.
Around 700,000 metric tons of supply will have been removed in about the year through mid-2016 as prices sank to a six-year low, according to Javier Targhetta, a senior vice president of marketing and sales. Still, new supplies from mines added this year mean a glut won’t be completely wiped out in 2016, he said in an interview Tuesday.