Glencore slashes this year's output target by 42%!

Glencore is lowering its cobalt production target for this year by 42% in response to a weak market environment. The company said Thursday that production of the battery metal would be between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes this year, down as much as 42% from the production target set in December 2022. The company also expects unsold cobalt stocks to drive up the cost of copper production to some extent.
Glencore is lowering its cobalt production target for this year in response to a weaker market environment. The company said Thursday that production of the battery metal would be between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes this year, down as much as 42% from the production target set in December 2022. The company also expects unsold cobalt stocks to drive up the cost of copper production to some extent.

Last year, Chinese company China Molybdenum overtook Glencore as the world's largest cobalt producer. Glencore has slashed its production target, marking a significant revision of its expansion plans. In 2023, Glencore cobalt production fell 6% to 41,300 tons, copper production fell 5% and zinc production fell 2%, the data showed.

The cobalt market is well supplied due to CMOC's increasing supply in the DRC and surging production in Indonesia. Demand for cobalt is also under pressure due to a slowdown in the electric vehicle market and sluggish sales of consumer electronics.

Glencore said it would cut cobalt production by reducing the operating rate of the Mutanda mine in the DRC. This will also have an impact on copper production.

The commodities giant also said it expected its trading business to have an adjusted pre-tax profit of $3.5 billion last year, compared with its previous forecast of $3.5 billion to $4 billion.