Copper smelters to cut output

Hong Kong
Nine large copper producers in China have agreed an initial plan to cut refined metal production by more than 200,000 tonnes in 2016 or around 5 percent from this year's level, an executive at one of the producers said on Saturday.
The agreement followed a meeting by the producers on Saturday in Shanghai to discuss coordinated output cuts to support the market after prices in Shanghai and the London Metal Exchange plunged to their lowest in more than 6 years.
China, the world's second biggest economy, is the top refined copper producer and consumer but is suffering an economic slowdown adding pressure on the global market.
The nine producers also will ask the state-controlled industry body, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA), to request Beijing to investigate high-speed trading and malicious short selling of copper contracts traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the executive said.