BEIJING: Shanghai copper prices jumped more than 3% on Thursday to their highest in nearly three years after Chinese producers agreed to curb output to cope with lower supply of raw material.

The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) climbed as much as 3.5% to 72,470 yuan ($10,074) per metric ton, the highest since May 2021.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) , however, eased 0.1% to $8,922.50 at 0243 GMT, taking a pause after climbing more than 3% in the previous session to its highest in nearly 11 months.

Mine disruptions and vast global smelting capacity expansion have led to shortage of copper ore, leading to China’s biggest copper smelters to agree to cut output at some loss-making plants, adjust maintenance plans and postpone new projects.

China produced 13 million tons of refined copper last year, or 47% of the global output, data by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics showed.

It is also the world’s biggest copper consumer.

Copper soars on Chinese plans to cut output

Analysts had forecast the fees to process copper concentrate, which dropped to the lowest in more than a decade and hurt smelters’ profit, could rebound in the second quarter, the seasonal peak of Chinese smelting maintenance.

LME aluminium rose 0.1% to $2,266.50 a ton, nickel eased 0.3% to $18,285, zinc was nearly flat at $2,576.50, lead was also unchanged at $2,169, and tin jumped 1.3% to $28,430.

SHFE aluminium rose 0.4% to 19,275 yuan a ton, nickel increased 0.4% to 141,920 yuan, zinc climbed 0.8% to 21,510 yuan, lead advanced 0.5% to 16,375 yuan and tin jumped 2.6% to 225,220 yuan.