Chile's Cochilco Projects Copper Price for 2025, 2026

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Chilean mining authority Cochilco said it foresees an average copper price of US$4.25 per pound for both this year and 2026.

Throughout last year, copper prices recovered from the drop experienced in 2023, a trend that is expected to continue this year.

Copper demand for 2025 is expected to be 27.4 million tons, a 3.2% year-over-year increase, Cochilco said. The supply of copper will rise 2.3% from 2024's level, but will be 118,000 tons less than demand.

The U.S.' threats of tariffs and weakness in the Chinese economy could impact copper prices, despite its growing demand as a key material in energy transition technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Cochilco Vice President Claudia Rodriguez said that "a better performance of the global economy could generate upward pressure on the price of copper in the short term."

For 2026, however, copper demand is expected to increase by 2.9% to 28.29 million tons, while supply is forecasted at 28.5 million, generating an oversupply of 210,000 tons.

Cochilco foresees Chilean copper production to be 5.76 million tons in 2025, 4.6% more than in 2024. The production growth is expected to continue in 2026 with production of 5.97 million tons, 3.6% more than the volumes anticipated for 2025.

Codelco (Santiago, Chile), the country's state mining company and the world's largest copper producer, is expected to begin recovering its annual production to historical levels of 1.7 million in 2030 producing only 1.4 million tons in 2023, its lowest volume in recent years.

Industrial Info is tracking 64 active projects from Codelco, worth nearly US$23 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for the project reports.

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