Southern Copper warns that US-China trade war could hit copper in short-term
LIMA - Grupo Mexico's Southern Copper mining unit believes the US-China trade war will hit the global economy, affecting the copper sector, CFO Raul Jacob said on a call with analysts on Wednesday to discuss quarterly results.
"We believe an intense commercial war between the US and China will affect economic growth worldwide," he said.
However, Jacob said he expected the industry to be resilient in the long-term. "We maintain a positive long-term outlook for copper," he said.
Jacob added that the large price difference between the US Comex exchange and London Metal Exchange (LME) indicated a "strong possibility" of US tariffs on copper imports. The Trump administration has said it will implement a 50% tariff starting on Friday.
Southern Copper is the third-biggest copper producer in Peru, which is itself the third-largest global producer of the red metal.
Peru is among the top providers of refined copper to the United States, although the majority of its exports are directed to China.
Jacob said there was still uncertainty around the details of the tariffs, or how they could impact the company, and noted that US-imposed tariff levels on other goods and countries have been fluctuating.
"It's very hard to predict at this point what is going to happen," he said and declined to comment on the impact from the price difference between Comex and the LME.
Grupo Mexico Chairman German Larrea in a statement accompanying results this week said the company was monitoring whether tariffs would impact the business but that Southern Copper was in a solid position to navigate the uncertainty.
Comments
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
We supply customers with practical affordable solutions for their testing needs. Our products include benchtop, portable, in-line process control...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Weir is a global leader in mining technology. We recognise that our planet’s future depends on the transition to renewable energy, and that...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
