FTSE 100 Falls as Antofagasta Production Cut Triggers Mining Sell-Off; Oil Prices Ease
Key Takeaways
- •Antofagasta shares dropped nearly five per cent after the company reported a production shortfall and reduced its full-year guidance.
- •The mining sector broadly declined, with Rio Tinto falling more than four per cent and Fresnillo dropping three per cent.
- •UK GDP growth slowed to 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, with the economy expanding 0.3 per cent month-on-month in June 2026.
- •Treasury officials warned the Prime Minister that the UK economy would barely grow next year if Strait of Hormuz disruption persists through the end of 2026.
- •Oil prices cooled slightly despite a prior-day warning from a global energy watchdog that stockpiles were rapidly depleting.
The FTSE 100 declined on Thursday morning, weighed down by a broad sell-off across the mining sector, which carries significant weight in the index and can amplify broader market moves when sector leaders stumble.
Antofagasta led the losses, falling nearly five per cent after investors reacted to a production shortfall and a reduction in its full-year guidance disclosed in the company's latest update. The negative sentiment spread quickly across the sector, with Rio Tinto declining more than four per cent and Fresnillo dropping three per cent.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Miners were in retreat in London after Antofagasta's latest update saw a material downgrade to its production outlook – a sharp reminder of the operational setbacks which are a fact of life in the mining sector."
"A step back in recently buoyant precious metals prices saw gold and silver producers on the back foot too," Mould added.
Earlier in the morning, the Office for National Statistics reported that UK economic growth slowed to 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of this year. On a monthly basis, the economy expanded 0.3 per cent in June 2026, following no growth in May 2026 — a figure revised down from a previously reported 0.1 per cent.
The data follows reports that Treasury officials have briefed the Prime Minister that the UK economy will barely grow next year if disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, linked to the Iran war, persists through the end of 2026. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical oil shipping chokepoints, through which roughly a fifth of global crude supply transits.
Oil prices cooled slightly on Thursday morning, despite a warning from the global energy watchdog the previous day that oil stockpiles were "rapidly depleting."
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