Chile mineral exports remain in freefall

Chile's mining exports contracted for the tenth consecutive month in April.

Exports were down 16.3% year-on-year to US$2.42bn, the central bank said. Compared sequentially, exports were down 5.7% from US$2.56bn in March.

Exports for the first four months of the year were down 15.8% to US$9.66bn.

April copper shipments fetched US$2.17bn, down 19.3% from US$2.69bn a year ago. Sequentially, the figure fell 10.5%.

Copper cathode exports in April totaled US$1.01bn, while those of copper in concentrates reached US$923mn, the bank said.

The average price of spot copper on the London Metal Exchange last month was US$2.200/lb compared with US$2.734/lb in April 2015, according to state copper commission Cochilco.

Chile's mineral exports last year were worth US$33.7bn.

The central bank figures also cover iron, silver, gold, molybdenum, lithium and salt exports.