Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — Glencore stock rose on Thursday after the world’s biggest mining company predicted another year of solid profits due to high prices for its main commodities.

The London-listed mining giant said its earnings before interest and taxes would be “comfortably” above $3.2 billion, the top end of its guidance range, the third year in a row it has been able to deliver such a result.

Glencore (OTC-) was at 2.1% up in London, and now stands at 31%. This makes it one of the top performing European mining stocks.

Glencore’s forecast is in some ways an illustration of the traditional preference of mining companies for price over volume. Covid-19 lockdowns, associated labor shortages, and other operational issues forced the company to decrease its production guidance.

The quarter’s copper production dropped 14%, and zinc production plummeted 15% due to delays at Zhairem in Kazakhstan. Glencore lowered its zinc output guidance for the full year by 9%, and that of copper guidance by 3.5%. It also reduced its cobalt guidance to 6.5%.

It did however increase its nickel and ferrrochrome production forecasts by just 3%.

Glencore plays a major role in almost all industrial metals, except for steel. Glencore’s and other peers’ inability to produce during the pandemic is a significant contributor to recent rallies in metal prices around the world.