Chile Copper Output at Nine-Year Low Adds to Supply Concerns

Chile posted its lowest monthly copper output in almost nine years, highlighting the challenges facing the world’s top producer as ore grades decline and key mines underperform.

Production totaled 378,554 metric tons in February, down 8.5% from January and 4.8% from a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the statistics agency INE. It was the lowest since March 2017, when a strike halted operations at BHP Group’s giant Escondida mine.