China's State Reserves Bureau will sell copper from its 500,000-tonne stockpile to drive down prices which have soared 200% since 2001, hitting a record high of US$4,126 a tonne Monday, reported the International Herald Tribune. The China copper sell-off is also intended to minimize losses from badly timed short selling of copper futures on the London Metal Exchange that could cost China US$200 million. Speculation was fuelled by the disappearance of China state trader Liu Qibing, who allegedly shorted 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes he had sold without owning in the hope of buying it back later more cheaply.
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