Buying By China’s State Reserve Bureau Supporting Copper Prices

Prices for many metals have been hit hard lately, but copper is getting key support from China’s State Reserve Bureau, according to the Wall Street Journal. The government agency has been buying up the red metal, keeping prices from seeking lower.

According to the publication:

China’s State Reserve Bureau, which maintains stocks of metals such as copper and iron as strategic materials, stepped up copper buying to new heights this year, buying about 500,000 tons of copper since early January, say traders and analysts.

Much of the stockpiling by the agency took place after copper hit four-year lows of around $6,386 a ton on March 14. While copper prices then rose, a subsequent Chinese probe into alleged fraud by traders at Qingdao Port using metals like copper as the same collateral to secure multiple loans hurt prices again.

Click here to read the full article.