Copper Premiums CIF China Keep Rising, LME Cancelled Warrants Surge
[SMM Imported Copper Market]LME data showed that on July 10, copper inventories were 305,200 mt, down 1,300 mt from the previous period, with cancelled warrants at 130,525 mt, up 25,725 mt, representing a ratio of cancelled warrants of 42.77%. Affected by the siphoning effect of North American copper, coupled with slightly impaired output from African smelters due to rising production costs, available imported copper supply in the market tightened periodically during July–August. Meanwhile, maintenance at domestic smelters had not fully concluded, social inventories continued destocking, and the import arbitrage window opened periodically. Supported by the above factors, premium quotations for B/L on arrival at Chinese ports continued to climb to triple digits from late July to early August. According to SMM survey, some warrants had already been cancelled from LME and shipped to the Chinese market.