Unexpected mining cutbacks point to copper price recovery

London

COPPER mines from Australia to Zambia are confounding forecasters as slumping prices and mine disruptions threaten to erase a global production surplus.

Companies including BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Group have reported accidents and equipment breakdowns while announcing 2015 spending cuts that Macquarie Group Ltd estimates at US$20 billion. The unexpected reductions mean mines may produce less, with any excess gobbled up by expanding government stockpiles in China, the top user, Bloomberg surveys of analysts showed.