Copper prices dropped for the first time in five days on rumors that China’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) will start offloading portions of its stockpiles to take advantage of a four-month high in prices, Bloomberg reported. The three-month delivery contract lost 1.4% to US$7,601.25 per metric ton on the London Metals Exchange, down from a high of US$7,750 per ton on September 3, its highest price since April. Copper also declined on the Shanghai Futures Exchange by 1.7% to US$8,766 per ton. The SRB bought 235,000 tons of copper last year, but analyst Wen Jinghai of Bohai Futures said that a major sell-off is unlikely. "The bureau isn’t looking to profit from market moves. If they really do sell part of the stockpile, it will only be a little bit at a time so as not to cause disruptions in the market," he said.
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