Base Metals Gain with Nickel Leading Move Higher

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• LME Aluminum 3M Select trades $14.75 higher to $3165 at 8:46:55 AM

• LME Copper 3M Select trades $11.25 higher to $13594 at 8:46:57 AM

  • (Bloomberg) – BHP Group Ltd. posted solid full-year production despite a weaker final quarter, though it warned copper output will fall in the year ahead as grades decline at its flagship Chilean mines.  Copper production on a 12-month basis to June 30 was down 3% year on year at close to 2 million tons, while iron ore output rose 1% to a record 264.7 million tons, according to an operational report released Thursday.  The miner expects copper output to fall to as low as 1.65 million tons in the new fiscal year that began July 1 as ore grades deteriorate at its South American operations, including the giant Escondida mine in Chile.  The strong 12-month results were achieved “against a backdrop of stronger realized prices for both copper and iron ore, with copper prices around 35% higher than a year ago,” Chief Executive Officer Brandon Craig said in the statement.  Craig, who took over on July 1, is tasked with delivering one of BHP’s largest growth pipelines in decades, including the Jansen potash project in Canada and expansions across its South American copper business.  BHP noted headwinds from inflation, higher diesel prices and global supply chain disruptions in Thursday’s report, but said overall production costs across all commodities remained within guidance. 

• CME HRC Steel last traded at $1154 and $-4 lower at 7/15/2026

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