Beijing: copper trades were personal

The Strategic Reserve Bureau, in its first statement on the copper scandal, said Liu Qibing, the trader who went missing last week after shorting 100,000-200,000 tonnes of copper on the London Metals Exchange, was acting in a personal capacity. Beijing's statement did not say whether the government took responsibility for Liu's loss-making trades that have convulsed the market, driving copper prices as high as US$4,175 a tonne before going back to US$4,163 Thursday.