London, Feb 18, 2026, 09:38 GMT — Regular session
Anglo American plc climbed 2.3% to 3,578 pence by 0923 GMT, bouncing back from Tuesday’s slide as London investors sifted through new UK numbers and circled the mining sector. The FTSE 100 miner previously settled at 3,499 pence and has been moving between 3,546 and 3,589 pence on Wednesday, market data show.
UK inflation decelerated to 3.0% in January from December’s 3.4%, matching what economists had projected and bolstering speculation that the Bank of England could lower rates as early as March. Digging into the numbers, though, services inflation barely budged. “Services inflation is proving to be much stickier than headline inflation,” RSM UK chief economist Thomas Pugh noted. Reuters
Anglo shares rebounded ahead of its full-year results due later this week. The company recently lowered its 2026 copper production outlook and flagged around $200 million in rehabilitation costs tied to its Chilean copper operations. For 2025, copper output is now projected to fall 10%. De Beers, part of the group, also saw rough diamond production slip 12% in 2025 as Anglo shifts focus increasingly toward copper and iron ore.
Optimism around rate cuts has been lifting UK stocks. The FTSE 100 notched a record close Tuesday, even as fresh jobs data showed unemployment ticking up to 5.2% and wage growth losing steam. Miners, though, took a hit from softer metal prices. “We expect two rate cuts by summer, one in March and another in June,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. Reuters
Investors in the mining sector faced a new set of numbers Wednesday as Glencore reported adjusted EBITDA down 6%. The company plans to hand back $2 billion to shareholders. CEO Gary Nagle highlighted improvement ahead: “The underlying momentum in H2 was clear,” he said. Reuters
Copper stole the show this earnings season. BHP’s half-year results came in above forecasts, and copper, not iron ore, led the charge on profits—a first for the company. Shares surged to record levels. “They smashed everyone’s expectations from a dividend perspective,” said Andy Forster, portfolio manager at Argo Investments. Reuters
Miners can swing hard when metals prices or rate bets move, and for Anglo, clarity on guidance and cash returns is still up in the air heading into the results.
Anglo American will release its full-year numbers at 0700 GMT on Feb. 20. Markets are looking for signals on production targets, as well as updates on cash flow and what’s next for shareholder returns.
