Chile bumps up copper price forecast, flags lagging Collahuasi output

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Top copper supplier Chile on Wednesday bumped up its outlook for prices of the red metal, though it flagged lagging output from a major mine operated by Glencore and Anglo American as weighing on economic growth.

Finance Minister Mario Marcel, in a presentation to Congress, upped the government forecast for average copper prices for this year to $4.28 per pound, from $4.26 per pound previously.

Marcel maintained the official estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for this year at 2.5%, though he said non-mining GDP had compensated for a drop in the mining sector's contribution.

"In recent months we've seen a moderation in production, primarily due to a drop in Collahuasi's output," he said, referring to the mine operated by Glencore and Anglo American.

Earlier on Wednesday, the chair of Chilean state miner Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, told Reuters that the 50% tariffs on copper set to go into effect on August 1 from the United States had influenced record prices there with global uncertainty causing price volatility.

Chile's finance ministry maintained its average copper price forecast for next year, at $4.30 per pound. It also held its inflation outlook for this year and next, along with next year's GDP growth forecast.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Natalia Siniawski)

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