Copper producers in China, the world’s largest importer of the metal, have announced plans to export the red metal, a rare move aimed at easing a shortage that has pushed prices higher, Financial Times reported.

Copper prices have risen recently after inventories of the metal outside China fell to unusually low levels, prompting a squeeze at the London Metal Exchange.

Jiangxi Copper, China’s largest copper producer, told the Financial Times it was planning “large” exports of the metal. The company will “export a certain number of [tonnes of] copper in the next few weeks,” said Frank Chen, senior trader at the company’s international trading division in Shanghai.

The move by China highlights the contrast in conditions inside the country, where demand is weak and stocks are mounting, with those in the rest of the world, where stocks are at their tightest for years.

The Chinese plan, first reported by Reuters, comes in response to a sharp fall in inventories at LME warehouses. Metals traders including Glencore have placed buy orders in recent weeks to take a record amount of the metal out of the exchange’s warehouses to supply their customers.

Excluding metal that has been earmarked for delivery, copper inventories at the LME have fallen to just 150,000 tonnes, the lowest since 2008. That has pushed the price of copper for immediate delivery to the biggest premium over longer-dated futures in four years, a sign of market tightness. The cost of copper for delivery in three months has risen to $8,496.75 a tonne, up nearly 8 per cent in two weeks.

On the other hand, stocks inside China are at record highs, leading some traders to suggest that China has “cornered” the copper market. The high level of stocks and weaker-than-expected demand within the country have depressed prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, putting pressure on companies such as copper smelters who buy the metal in the global market and sell it in China.