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Most industrial metals declined on Thursday, after China said it would strengthen its management of commodity supply and demand to curb “unreasonable” increases in prices.
The world’s biggest metals consumer will step up adjustments on the trade and stockpiling of commodities and reinforce inspections on both the spot and futures markets, state media reported the cabinet meeting as deciding.
It will crack down on malicious trading and investigate behaviour that bids up prices, according to the report.
The move came as a jump in commodities prices, including a 29% year-to-date rise in LME copper, fuelled higher inflation in some major economies and threatened the sustainability of a nascent global economic recovery from the pandemic-driven slump.
The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 dropped as much as 3.8% to 72,150 yuan ($11,213.52) a tonne, its lowest since April 30, while aluminium SAFcv1 fell to a near three-week low of 18,800 yuan a tonne.
ShFE nickel SNIcv1 fell 4.3% to 127,550 yuan a tonne by 0129 GMT, zinc SZNcv1 was down 3.7% at 22,200 yuan a tonne and tin SSNcv1 declined 2.8% to 193,690 yuan a tonne.
In London, three-month copper CMCU3 fell to a two-week low of $9,969 a tonne, aluminium CMAL3 declined 0.4% and nickel CMNI3 was down 0.3% at $17,270 a tonne.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Chinese company Lygend Mining’s nickel and cobalt smelting project in Indonesia became the first high-pressure acid leach project in the country to reach production.
* Canadian company Teck Resources’ TECKB.TO Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 copper project is shielded from higher levies for 15 years in Chile due to a stability agreement, its chief executive said.