The world's top metals consumer offered processors and manufacturers the chance to bid for 30,000 tonnes of copper, 70,000 tonnes of aluminium and 50,000 tonnes of zinc reserves on online platforms operated by state-run China Minmetals Corp and Norinco.
The metal was sold off in small batches, typically of 100-250 tonnes.
Confirming the end of Saturday's auctions in a statement, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said it would continue to release inventories in the near future based on market supply, demand and prices.
The administration did not disclose the names of the successful bidders or the price at which the metal was sold, nor was that information immediately visible on the platforms hosting the sales.
The sales took the total amount of metal released by China's National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration in 2021 to 570,000 tonnes. Prior to this year, Beijing had not sold off state metal reserves for more than a decade.
Saturday has been designated as a working day in China after week-long National Day public holiday from Oct. 1-7.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; writing by Tom Daly; editing by Jason Neely)
