China Concluded Third Round of Auction of Metal Reserves

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): China announced that it has completed release of 150,000 tonnes of state metal inventories to market. This is the third round of auctions which had begun in the month of July this year. The auctions are part of government’s efforts to reduce the burden of high commodity prices on businesses.

The auction offered domestic metal processors and manufacturers an opportunity to bid for 30,000 tonnes of copper, 70,000 tonnes of aluminium and 50,000 tonnes of zinc reserves. It recorded sales in small batches. The entire copper inventory got sold in the morning session itself, at a discount of around 1,300 to 1,500 yuan per tonne compared to market prices, as per data provided by Shanghai Metal Exchange Market (SHMET).

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With the recent auction, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration has released a total of 420,000 tonnes over the past two months. The move is in response to President Xi Jinping’s call for better management of its state reserves system, in the midst of rising commodity prices. He had emphasized the need to develop a unified emergency reserves system.

China had released several tonnes of coal and corn reserves, aimed at bringing the high prices under control.