China seen jolting market by paring copper stockpile

Hong Kong

CHINA may be about to shock the global copper market by unleashing some of its stockpiles of the metal, which are near record highs, onto the global market.

Four traders of copper, including two from state-owned Chinese smelters, said they expect China to raise its copper exports - which are usually tiny - in the next few months.

China's refined copper exports averaged less than 10,000 tonnes a month in the first two months of 2016, and around 17,000 a month in 2015.

If higher exports materialise, they will be a major jol…