Copper in Shanghai Declines After China Raises Export Taxes By...

Copper in Shanghai Declines After China Raises Export Taxes

By Xiaowei Li

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Copper futures in Shanghai dropped after China's government said it will raise export taxes on copper, nickel and aluminum.

Export taxes on the metals will increase to 15 percent, the government said Oct. 27. Taxes on many steel products will rise to 10 percent. The changes follow the reduction or elimination of rebates on steel and metals exports announced in September.

``The tax changes are seen as a part of an ongoing crackdown on over-investment in resource-intensive industries, which drag down the price of metals including copper,'' Wang Zheng, a trader at Shanghai Continent Futures Co., said today. The changes make it less attractive to export metal, he said.

Copper for delivery in December on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 2,300 yuan, or 3.27 percent to 68,010 yuan ($8,633), the biggest drop since Sept. 15. The contract traded at 69,590 yuan at 10:13 a.m. Shanghai time.