National Copper Social Inventory Continues to Accumulate with Significant Buildup Across All Regions [SMM Weekly Data]

SMM March 2 Update:

Data Brief: As of Monday, March 2, SMM's national mainstream copper inventories increased 10.13% MoM from the first post-holiday day (last Tuesday) and showed an inventory buildup compared to last Thursday, with all regions experiencing an inventory buildup.

Specifically, in the Shanghai area, continuous arrivals of imported copper led to a significant accumulation of inventory; in Jiangsu, the increase in domestic copper arrivals caused inventory to continuously climb, reaching a historical high; in Guangdong, the pace of consumption recovery was slow, with large spot discounts, and suppliers actively shipped goods into storage, also leading to an inventory buildup.

Looking ahead, on the supply side, imported copper will continue to arrive, and domestic copper arrivals will remain stable, with overall supply steadily increasing; on the demand side, downstream enterprises are gradually resuming production, and consumption is slowly returning to normal. According to surveys, this week's operating rate for copper cathode rod is expected to rise to 57.97%, up 39.59 percentage points MoM. Considering both supply and demand, the current market shows a "supply increase, consumption recovery" pattern, and it is expected that social inventory will continue to build up this week, but at a narrower pace.