Observers, though, believe that Chile can easily redirect shipments to areas that are suffering tight supply, even if buyers in Japan declare force majeure after the massive quake, reports Fabian Andres Cambero for Reuters. For instance, Chinese smelters are working below peak capacity. In January, Japan imported almost a third of Chile’s copper concentrate exports.
With major disasters in Japan, the third-largest global economy, cautious investors fear that the set back in Japan may affect international economies, write Chris Kelly and Pratima Desai for Reuters. Still, in the long term, reconstruction efforts in Japan could spur greater demand for industrial metals.
For more information on Japan, visit our Japan category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.