Weak commodities market drives Glencore to first-half loss

Commodities and mining group Glencore PLC slumped to a first-half loss of US$676 million in the wake of weak commodities prices and costs linked to the suspension of oil drilling operations in Chad.

In the same period last year, the company made a net profit of US$1.72 billion.

Like others, Glencore has suffered from big price falls over the past year across a range of commodities.

Glencore's results were also undermined by US$792 million worth of costs related to the slow development of its Chad oil operations related to low oil prices.

Glencore's CEO Ivan Glasenberg conceded Wednesday that the first half of the year was "challenging" but insisted that the company

is well-positioned "to benefit

from any improvement in pricing when it finally and inevitably materialises."