LONDON, June 26, 2026, 10:03 BST
- Glencore dropped roughly 2.5% in morning trading in London, trailing the FTSE 100.
- The stock is down 11.4% over the past four weeks. Copper and coal prices are still much higher than a year ago.
- Glencore said first-quarter copper output climbed 19%. The company kept its 2026 production guidance steady.
- M&A optionality holds up in the price following new Reuters reporting on BHP and Rio.
Glencore plc (LON:GLEN) dropped to roughly 508 pence Friday morning. Shares were down 2.55% at 0955 BST, trailing the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) as investors moved out of the miner. Commodity prices are holding up better than Glencore’s stock. The London Stock Exchange ran its normal 0800-1630 BST hours.
Glencore shares are down 11.4% over the last four weeks, wiping out some of the stock’s 77.5% run over the past year. Shares are trading nearly 28% off the 52-week high at 707.20p. The FTSE 100 name slipped 0.5% Friday.
Copper is trading at $6.05 a pound, according to June 26 quotes, 4.18% lower for the month but up 19.31% year-on-year. Coal prices, quoted at $143.20 a tonne on June 25, rose 7.99% over the month and are up 34.90% from a year earlier, Trading Economics data show.
Glencore executives pointed to better prices as a support for margins. In April, Chief Executive Gary Nagle told investors that higher commodity prices would “more than offset” higher costs. He also said that if Q1 marketing results held up, full-year EBIT would land “comfortably” above Glencore’s $2.3 billion-$3.5 billion long-term range. Glencore
Glencore reported own-sourced copper output up 19% in the first quarter to 199,600 tonnes, with gains from African copper grades and Antamina. Energy coal production was steady at 22.9 million tonnes. The company kept its 2026 guidance at 810,000-870,000 tonnes of copper, 95 million-100 million tonnes of energy coal and 30 million-34 million tonnes for steelmaking coal.
Copper’s read-through isn’t so straightforward. Reuters’ Andy Home said Friday that while copper prices sit near all-time highs, treatment and refining charges have cratered. The annual benchmarks dropped to zero this year from $80 a metric ton and 8 cents a pound for 2024. Spot treatment fees have been below zero for months.
This is important for Glencore because the company isn’t only in mining. It also owns processing plants. Reuters reported that Glencore’s Philippine smelter is on care and maintenance. The group kept only its Australian processing assets operating, after getting A$600 million, or $395 million, from state and federal governments.
Coal prices and import volumes are moving up. Reuters columnist Clyde Russell wrote Thursday that Asia’s seaborne thermal coal imports look set to reach 77.37 million tonnes in June, a six-month high and a jump of 22.3% year-on-year. High-grade Australian coal at Newcastle hit $150.25 a tonne in mid-June and settled at $134.09 on Wednesday, now 15.7% above where it was before the war.
That’s why the stock isn’t just reacting to coal prices. Glencore’s targets for 2026 keep big volumes in energy and steelmaking coal. The company also said it expects higher copper, steelmaking coal, and energy coal production in the second half.
Glencore is still waiting on deal action. Reuters said Thursday the miner has “made no secret” it wants to bulk up, but Rio Tinto plc (LON:RIO) has rebuffed Glencore for now. Glencore remains in a six-month standstill after talks with Rio. CLSA analyst Baden Moore said BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) and Rio are likely to keep chasing growth from deals and projects. “BHP’s valuation premium positions them well to pursue M&A,” Moore said. Reuters
RBC mining analyst Ben Davis told Mining.com in January that a Rio-Glencore tie-up would be about copper. Davis said, “Securing copper – not creating near-term value – is the key rationale.” Mining
Investors don’t have to wait long for Glencore’s next numbers. The miner will put out a half-year production update July 29, then half-year results follow on Aug. 5.
