The committee brings together experts to project the copper price between 2026 and 2035—an essential input for estimating Chile’s structural government revenues.
This week, the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office (Dipres) held the inaugural session of the Copper Reference Price Advisory Committee, as part of the drafting process for the 2026 Budget Bill. This committee, active since 2002, aims to forecast the medium-term average price of copper—a key variable in estimating the structural revenues of the Central Government.
The committee is composed of 21 experts invited by Hacienda and Dipres, who participate in a personal capacity and on an ad honorem basis. Each member must submit an annual copper price projection for the 2026–2035 period, along with the technical rationale supporting their estimate. This information will be published anonymously alongside the committee’s official minutes on August 29.
This year’s Committee includes ten new members, including Juan Cristóbal Ciudad, a member of the Plusmining team. His personal participation reflects the company’s technical and analytical strength, as well as its ability to contribute to high-level tax policy discussions in Chile.
The session was led by Budget Director Javiera Martínez Fariña, who emphasized the methodological adjustments made this year. These include the decision to exclude consultations with Cochilco, following recommendations from the Autonomous Fiscal Council (CFA), to reduce potential bias in the projections.
The work of the Copper Reference Price Advisory Committee, together with the Non-Mining Trend GDP Committee, feeds into the calculation of the Structurally Adjusted Balance of the Central Government—a key tool for determining the country’s annual fiscal space. Expert projections are scheduled to be submitted on August 14.
Fuente: Plusmining