China’s war on smog lifts metals to multi-year peaks

A worker at a copper mine in Mexico in this file photo. The 8.2 quake off Chile's coast triggered a tsunami alert, raising supply concerns with prices jumping 1%, before steadily paring gains - Reuters Photo.

LONDON: Industrial metals, liquefied natural gas and steel finished 2017 in stunning fashion as a crackdown on pollution in China, the world’s no. 2 economy, boosts demand for cleaner fossil fuels and raw materials vital to clean-tech industries.

The world’s most traded commodity, oil, rallied to finish the year at levels not seen in more than two years on increased demand and efforts by major producers to cut supply.