Cochilco said that increased speculation in the market was playing a role in bolstering copper, adding: "This could push the price to new highs in the short term."
The commission also predicted that copper production out of Chile would hit close to 5.8 million tonnes this year, a year-on-year increase of 1.8%, but below its previous forecast of just under 6 million tonnes.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.2% at $10,496.50 a tonne in official trading and near last week's record high of $10,747.50.
LME zinc was up 2.4% at $3,085 a tonne after surging to $3,108.50, its highest since June 2018.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.4% at $10,283.50 a tonne in official trading, close to last Monday's all-time peak of $10,747.50.
Chinese steel prices fell sharply, with buyers put off by higher prices and the government warning it will move against too rapid a rally.
Prices have rocketed 25% this year as commodities and equities markets surged and investors anticipate that a crackdown on polluting smelters in China will constrain supply.
Adding impetus was China saying it would "indefinitely" suspend all activity under a China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, deepening a crisis in relations.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) had risen 1.4% to $9,958.50 per tonne in official trades. On Thursday, prices hit $10,008 a tonne which was the highest since Feb. 2011.
"It's a tremendously positive story for copper at the moment and in the long term," said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah, adding that the metal will likely pierce through the $10,000 mark again.
Copper output fell 1.3% in March, to 491,720 tonnes, the agency said, coinciding with a raft of new restrictions on movement and commerce following the Southern Hemisphere's summer holidays.
Chile's copper production fell 2.2% year on year, to 1.4 million tonnes, in the first quarter of 2021, according to INE's statistics.
The 22 smelters in its copper production survey churned out 792,800 tonnes of cathodes last month, up from a low base in coronavirus-affected March 2020 and a 28-day February in 2021.
A slight increase in maintenance this month will see April cathode output fall to around 780,000 tonnes, Antaike said.
"There's no point having money in copper at this point because we're not going anywhere," said commodities broker Anna Stablum of Marex Spectron.
"The shorter-term money...has already disappeared and moved on to where you can make more short-term gains, but...there's substantial sticky, longer-term money basically (still) sat in that long," she said.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.3% at $8,984 a tonne by 1206 GMT but up about 2% for the week and on course for its first weekly rise in a month.
A barnstorming economic recovery in China and speculative buying pushed the metal used in power and construction to $9,617 in February, its highest in a decade, before prices stagnated.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.6% to $9,104 a tonne, its highest since March 23.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also hit its highest in two weeks, advancing as much as 2.3% to 67,670 yuan ($10,308.32) a tonne.
There are concerns about China deleveraging; that seems to be uppermost in a lot of people's minds. How much more tightening is there to come? And the Chinese economy seems to be slowing anyway.
Copper inventories are rising on the LME and it seems that demand for the time being has come off the boil, which is a bit concerning because we're going into the seasonally strong part of the year.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded down 0.3% to $8,937 a tonne in official rings. Prices are down 7% since hitting 9-1/2-year highs of $9,617 last month.
The blockage in the Suez Canal made people think about higher costs of transporting metal. It's not over yet, but the ship is moving.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange shed 2.2% to $8,780.50 a tonne in official trading, having hit $8,702 a tonne, its lowest since March 5.
Chinese demand worries and a stronger dollar - these are the two main macro factors that's causing a general loss of risk appetite across the whole commodity space.
Markets are also unsettled after a rapid rise in US bond yields turned investors cautious, taking some heat from rallies in equities, oil and industrial metals.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which reached a decade high of $9,617 a tonne last month, was at $9,017.50 in official trading, down 0.4% for the day and around 0.7% for the week.