Top Copper Miner Almost Sold Out on Strong China Demand
- Codelco is finishing its annual sales much earlier than usual
- Benavides says prices should rise as demand outstrips supply
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Chinese copper demand has been so strong in the past few months that top producer Codelco has almost sold out of supplies for next year, well ahead of schedule, according to the chairman of the Chilean state-owned company.
“It’s extremely strong, not only China. It’s extremely strong around the world," Juan Benavides, who took over as chairman of Codelco in May, said in an interview in London. The wave of buying comes as prices have fallen 15 percent this year amid fears that a trade war between the U.S. and China could stifle global growth.