China Tries to Temper Rising Commodity Prices
Quentin Webb and Stella Yifan Xie, 26 May 2021
China is trying to cool red-hot markets for key industrial commodities such as iron ore, seeking to ensure runaway prices for these raw materials don’t hurt the broader post-pandemic recovery.
Chinese officials, led by Premier Li Keqiang, have stepped up their rhetoric on natural resources since mid-May. The national cabinet, or State Council, which Mr. Li chairs, said last week it would take steps to ensure adequate supply and stable prices for commodities.
On Sunday, six agencies including China’s competition and securities regulators summoned commodity industry representatives to warn them of a zero-tolerance approach to illegal activities like market manipulation, price-gouging and hoarding. Attendees included representatives of industry associations and commodity producers.
The government bodies also said they would supervise markets such as those for copper and aluminum more closely, according to a statement Monday from the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic-planning agency.
The moves follow a rally, fueled by a global economic rebound and supply-chain disruptions, that has lifted prices for some commodities such as copper to records.
