After China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) warned companies in the country over pushing up prices, global prices for industrial metals have dropped.

NDRC have urged the firms to maintain “normal market orders”, following a surge in metal prices in recent months as major economies emerge from the pandemic.

The price of metals including three month copper and aluminum were among those affected.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper dipped by 1.6 percent to $9,881 per metric ton, while aluminum dropped by 1.09 percent to $2,370 per metric ton.

According to a report by state media outlet The Global Times, key Chinese companies in steel, iron and aluminium were among those “collectively summoned” on Sunday for interviews.