China’s North Copper may reduce copper output in future due to tight supplies of copper concentrates and lower processing fees, it told the state-backed China Securities Journal on Thursday.
The news comes as major Chinese smelters scramble to secure raw material supplies after their profit margins were hit by shortages of copper ore due to mine disruptions and a vast expansion in global smelting capacity.
Top Chinese smelters agreed in a Wednesday meeting to jointly curb production at some loss-making plants as they seek to cope with the supply crunch, sources previously told Reuters.
Shanghai copper prices rallied to a near three-year high on Thursday, buoyed by expectations of lower supply, with North Copper’s share price closing up almost 10%.
(By Ella Cao, Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Mark Potter)
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