“The Board confirms that it is not aware of any reasons for these price and volume movements or of any information which must be announced to avoid a false market in the Company’s securities”, the statement said. Shares are however still down 15 percent month-on-month. Last Monday, a number of analysts questioned its ability to pay down its $30bn debt pile if commodity prices, which have taken a hit from China’s slowing economy, keep falling.
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Reuters reported on Friday that Glencore is in talks with a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and China’s state-backed grain trader COFCO, along with Canadian pension funds, to sell a stake in the assets.
Mining stocks and commodities were also helped on Monday by data last week that showed US employers added fewer jobs than expected, dimming prospects for an increase in USA interest rates and weakening the dollar. Debt is not an existential issue for Glencore, the analysts wrote. The business, which supplies everything from cotton to soybeans could be valued at $10.5 billion, according to Citigroup Inc., which has been hired by Glencore to run the asset sale along with Credit Suisse Group AG.
That sent its shares (which are traded in relatively lower volumes in Hong Kong) bouncing as high as HK$18.36 (£1.56), before they fell back to HK$12.60.
In addition, the company raised $US2.5 billion from a capital-raising drive and cut 400,000 tonnes of copper production from a few of its African mines. The surge resulted following reports that the mining company is talking to potential buyers for the sale of its agriculture business.
Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg, who infamously noted in August that he was unable to “read” the trajectory of the Chinese economy, also indicated he would be open to takeover offers but few in the market expect one to emerge given the company’s huge debt load.
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Glencore’s shares saw big fluctuations last week following speculation over its financial prospects.
