UPDATE 1-Peru copper production dips 1.2% in January

(Updates with additional detail on year-over-year drop, monthly comparison and background)

LIMA, March 19 (Reuters) - Copper production in Peru, the world's No. 2 producer of the red metal, slipped 1.2% in January from the same month the year earlier to some 205,375 metric tons, the Andean nation's mines and energy ministry said on Tuesday.

The new figures come after a 17% drop in output from MMG's Las Bambas mine and a 13.4% fall from Freeport-McMoRan's Cerro Verde mine.

That was below December's output of around 255,000 tons, according to ministry data.

Peru's copper production

should reach 3 million tons

this year after hitting 2.76 million tons in 2023, Mining Minister Romulo Mucho said earlier this month. (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernández and Anthony Esposito)