FTSE 100 copper miners fell sharply in early trading on Tuesday after data showed Chinese smelters producing record quantities of the metal, threatening to weigh on prices at an already turbulent time for global markets.
Antofagasta PLC (LSE:ANTO), the Chilean copper miner, dropped 4% while Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL), the diversified miner with significant copper operations, fell 3.5%.
The declines followed a report citing a poll of producers by Shanghai Metals Market showing Chinese refined copper output expected to reach almost 1.2 million tons this month, a 4.6% increase from February and a record high for the survey.
Year-to-date output growth stands at 10%, with swelling stockpiles threatening to slow the metal's recent price gains at a time when copper had been benefiting from strong demand driven by the global energy transition and artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.
The losses added to broader pressure on mining stocks, with the wider FTSE 100 falling 150 points to 10,630 as the escalating US-Israeli military campaign against Iran rattled investors and sent oil prices to their highest level in more than a year.