Low copper prices are causing problems for miners all over the globe, but for producers in Zambia, the latest drop in prices is just one concern among many.

In the first 50 years of its history, China’s State Reserve Bureau was able to fulfil its vital but mundane role of stockpiling critical raw materials such as copper discreetly and without attracting much attention outside of the markets it bought from.

Some major Chinese smelters are considering reducing their deliveries into the domestic market due to the copper price slump, market sources have said.

Charlotte Radford reviews some of the key news and price moves reported by Metal Bulletin this week.

The world’s largest copper producer Codelco has announced the temporary shutdown of its Salvador division, citing “force majeure” reasons amid contractors’ protests.

Shivani Singh has been appointed Asia editor at Metal Bulletin and continues to be based in Singapore.

Charlotte Radford takes a look at just some of the news stories and price moves covered by Metal Bulletin reporters over the past five days.

Indonesia’s 300,000-tpy-plus Gresik copper smelter in eastern Java has been shut for the past ten days for technical reasons, market sources said.

After a week of turmoil, nose dives and downdrafts, Morgan Stanley analyst Tom Price has answered the key questions prevailing from last week’s “correction” in the markets.

Metal Bulletin’s Charlotte Radford reviews key news and price moves from the past seven days.