EARNINGS from Glencore’s trading division would most likely be at the high end of its $2.2bn to $3.2bn range, said the Financial Times in an article about the Swiss-based firm’s first quarter production report.
This was despite adverse trading conditions in central Africa and Russia. In the case of the latter, Glencore is apparently unaffected by US sanctions which have locked Rusal, an aluminium producer and one of Glencore’s major trading partners, out of western markets. Glencore was the single biggest buyer of Rusal metal last year, purchasing aluminium worth $2.4bn, said the Financial Times.
Glencore was planning to ramp up its production of copper and zinc later this year, and confirmed on Thursday that its sprawling production of over 50 different commodities across 90 countries will remain in line with expectations this year, said The Telegraph in its coverage of Glencore’s numbers.
Glencore revealed on Thursday that the Katanga mine in the DRC produced just over 27,000 tonnes of copper and 500 tonnes of cobalt, which analysts at Barclays said suggests that efforts to hit its 150,000 tonne target are going well. “However, we believe the market’s focus will remain on issues in the DRC,” the bank’s analysts warned.
