LONDON, July 9, 2026, 17:09 BST
- Glencore shares finished up after Goldman Sachs bumped the stock to Buy. The stock closed above most of the big call-option levels traded the day before.
- Almost all of Wednesday’s options flow came in calls, which let traders buy stock at a fixed price.
- Next up for Glencore is its half-year production report on July 29, then results come out on Aug. 5.
Glencore plc LON:GLEN jumped Thursday after Goldman Sachs moved the stock to Buy, giving quick gains for traders who loaded up on July calls the day before. The company’s share feed showed Glencore up 20.75 pence at 511.40 pence by 16:47 GMT. FTSE 100 closed a touch lower on broker screens.
The move is notable because this wasn’t simply a rally across all miners. Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month price target to 630 pence from 660 pence but still said the sector’s drop has opened a good entry point. At about 511.6 pence, that target suggests around 23% upside.
| Measure | Latest read | Investor read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Glencore LSE delayed price | 511.40p, +20.75p | Approaching July’s 520p call strike again |
| Google Finance last print | 513.43p, +4.64% | Shows a solid rebound in the session |
| Intraday range | 501.70p-515.50p | Name hit support at the lower call area |
| Volume | 26.17 mln shares | Came in under Google’s 42.44 mln average |
| Goldman 12-month target | 630p | About 23% over late trade |
Glencore drew a spike in options activity Wednesday, with 18,640 contracts traded as of 7:50 a.m. New York, exchange data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Most of that was on the call side—18,634 calls versus just six puts, according to Investing.com.
| Options flow | Contracts traded | Open interest cited | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Glencore options | 18,640 | — | Big spike in trading |
| Calls | 18,634 | — | Nearly every trade was bullish |
| Puts | 6 | — | No real put action |
| July 17 520p calls | 7,287 | 525 | Volume dwarfed the open interest |
| July 17 540p calls | 7,287 | 10,617 | Activity at a strike just above the price |
| Aug. 21 540p/580p call spread | 2,000 each leg | 3,500 / 1 | Upside bets pushed to August |
Glencore traded at 511.40p on Thursday. The 520p strike was just 1.7% above spot, with the 540p needing a 5.6% gain. The August 580p call sat 13.4% out of the money. Those strikes show where traders have lined up ahead of Glencore’s production update later in July.
Goldman linked its case to copper, zinc, and marketing earnings, according to Investing.com. The broker pointed to tighter copper mine supply, possible U.S. tariffs on metals, zinc concentrate shortages, and improved met coal prices after supply hits in China’s Shanxi and as India and China gear up for seasonal restocking.
Glencore climbed after the upgrade, standing out in a session where London-listed miners bounced. Anglo American plc LON:AAL rose 5.73%, Rio Tinto plc LON:RIO added 2.85%, and Antofagasta plc LON:ANTO was up 4.62% late in the day, according to Google Finance.
| Stock | Google Finance ticker | Late-session move | Price shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glencore plc | LON:GLEN | up 4.64% | 513.43p |
| Anglo American plc | LON:AAL | rose 5.73% | 3,574.67p |
| Rio Tinto plc | LON:RIO | up 2.85% | 6,675.00p |
| Antofagasta plc | LON:ANTO | added 4.62% | 3,689.90p |
Glencore’s big test is almost here. The company said its 2026 half-year production numbers are coming out July 29 at 7 a.m. UK time. It plans to post half-year results on August 5, also at 7 a.m. UK.
Glencore’s first-quarter production left bulls with something to work with, but there’s no simple story. The miner’s own-sourced copper output jumped 19% to 199,600 tonnes. Cobalt production fell by 39%, zinc was down 17%, steelmaking coal dropped 22%, and energy coal eased 2%. The company kept its full-year production guidance steady. CEO Gary Nagle said production was “largely in line with our expectations” and added that higher commodity prices should cover rising costs. Glencore
But there are clear risks. Glencore flagged higher diesel and sulphuric-acid costs, a weaker dollar, and most copper and coal output coming in the second half, so there’s less room if production slips by July. Cobalt quotas in the Democratic Republic of Congo still run through at least 2027, so KCC and Mutanda stay tied to export limits, even as Glencore focuses on copper.
Right now, the market has its own numbers on the story. If copper and zinc prices hold up along with the Goldman argument, and if Glencore’s marketing desk keeps turning price swings into profit, then 520p and 540p might not seem like wild bets but steps along the way. A weak July 29 report, though, could send those options lower in a hurry, making Thursday’s rise look like traders just squaring up, not a real show of faith.
