Highly geared Swiss miner Glencore is poised to sell assets in Australia and Chile as early as today, after putting its Hong Kong listed shares into a trading halt today. Shares in the firm, down more than 60 per cent this year, have fluctuated wildly amid investor fears that sinking commodity prices will affect its ability to meet outstanding debt obligations. Shanghai zinc which rallied 4 per cent in Friday’s late session, trimmed gains to 2.8 per cent. “The scale of Glencore’s announced cuts here creates upside risk for zinc’s price in coming months”, said Morgan Stanley in a note, adding the story was not the same for lead.
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Zinc ingot Rs 114-120, Nickel plate (4×4) Rs 909-914, Gun metal scrap Rs 227, Bell metal scrap Rs 229, Copper mixed scrap Rs 370, Chadri deshi Rs 295.
Glencore’s Australian spokesman had no immediate comment on what assets were to be sold.
“Glencore is shoring up its balance sheet by cutting supply”.
Glencore’s Chilean operations are mostly focused on copper, with stakes in three copper mines plus development projects and ports.
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The company had said last Friday it will cut 500,000 tonnes of global zinc production, around one third of its annual zinc output, due to low prices. The head of its coal business has also said its Australian coal mines will be shut if the long downturn in commodity prices makes them unprofitable.
