LONDON, March 13, 2026, 15:24 GMT
- Shares of Anglo American slipped roughly 2% to 3,188 pence in Friday trading. The broader London mining index retreated 2.1%.
- Oil’s move above $100 a barrel, diminished prospects for a Bank of England rate cut, and the stock going ex-dividend all weighed.
- Shares are still trading far under their Feb. 25 high, with investors factoring in reduced copper guidance, softer numbers from De Beers, and the upcoming Teck merger.
Anglo American traded lower on Friday, sliding with other London-listed miners as oil prices stayed above $100 a barrel and traders dialed back expectations for imminent rate cuts. Shares hovered around 3,188 pence in the afternoon, down about 2%. Earlier, the stock dipped to 3,146 pence.
This shift is significant as Anglo looks to reshape its business around copper and iron ore. Shares on Friday sat roughly 18% under their 52-week peak of 3,877 pence from Feb. 25—a steep drop for a name that just recently powered London’s mining surge.
Losses cut across the board. Miners dragged: Antofagasta slid 2.45%, Glencore dropped 1.09%, and Rio Tinto slipped 1.43%. Reuters flagged the sector as London’s weakest group.
Jonathan Stubbs at Berenberg flagged “a prolonged closure and persistently high energy prices” as the main threats, with the Strait of Hormuz drawing plenty of attention from investors. Goldman Sachs, for its part, projected Brent holding above $100 a barrel in March. Reuters
“The longer the disruption goes on, the greater the impact on energy prices and in turn global inflation,” said Danni Hewson at AJ Bell on Thursday. Since then, markets have scrapped bets on a March Bank of England rate cut, ramping up pressure on growth-linked stocks. Reuters
Anglo shares slipped after going ex-dividend on Thursday for a final 16 U.S.-cent payout. Once a stock trades ex-dividend, anyone buying in after that date misses out on the dividend—a quirk that can put some pressure on prices right around the cutoff.
The wider picture for the company remains cloudy. Last month, Anglo lowered its 2026 copper output forecast to 700,000-760,000 metric tons, down from 760,000-820,000, and flagged that De Beers was on track for a likely loss in 2025. Not even a full fortnight later, Anglo posted a $3.7 billion loss after taking a fresh $2.3 billion writedown on its diamond division, and trimmed its dividend to $0.23 per share.
Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad put it bluntly on Feb. 5: “We are committed to seeing our portfolio transformation through to its conclusion.” Anglo is in the process of shedding diamonds, nickel, and steelmaking coal, even as it barrels forward with its $53 billion all-stock merger with Teck Resources. Wanblad, speaking again on Feb. 20, said he expects the transaction to close sometime between September and March, depending on sign-offs from regulators in China and South Korea. Reuters
So the immediate question for the stock: can it hold if oil softens while copper holds its ground? If that happens, Anglo’s tilt toward copper—and the Teck transaction—could draw buyers back. But stretch out the energy crunch, throw in more trouble from De Beers or fresh copper disappointments, and the shares, still far below their late-February highs, stay under the gun.
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