Copper production rose to 295,200 tons in the quarter, after output of copper concentrate at Escondida increased 70 percent during the six months to Dec. 31 during fiscal 2013, BHP said, benefiting from higher ore grades and the completion of maintenance work.
“If BHP are making an increasing play on copper, you’ve got to go along with that” given its knowledge of markets, Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne, said by phone. There’s a lot of positive sentiment for copper “given that we’re seeing an improvement in China, given the growth and stabilization in U.S. housing,” he said.
Copper prices climbed 6.3 percent last year as central banks in the U.S., Europe and China increased efforts to boost economies. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX), the world’s biggest publicly traded copper producer, yesterday reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as copper sales rose more than expected and costs fell
