Chile’s mining producer price index (PPI) grew by 46.6pc in March on an annual basis on rising copper and iron ore prices last month according to the country’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The country’s PPI for copper and iron ore climbed by 50.5pc and 48.5pc, respectively, last month compared to March 2020 on an annual basis, according to a statement released by the National Institute of Statistics (Ine) on April 23. PPI for manufacturing also increased by 3.8pc in March compared to the same month in the prior year, following a 23.1pc rise in the manufacturing of steel and iron ore products.
In Chile, the PPI measures the average change in the price of goods and services sold by producers and manufacturers in the market during a given period.
The South American country’s copper production fell by 5pc to 425,500mt in February, from 448,000mt in February 2020, due to lower production from Escondida, Los Pelambres, and Spence, according to the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco).
Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, has increased its price guidance for copper to $3.30/lb. Chile’s copper production is also expected to increase by 3.6pc to 6mn mt this year, while copper output will reach 6.1mn mt in 2022.
Copper prices reached $4.330/lb on Friday up by 0.74pc compared to the prior day, according to data from Cochilco.