Copper Inventories in Major Regions of China Continued Destocking During the Week [SMM Weekly Data]

Published: Mar 27, 2026 16:44

Save

SMM News, March 27:

Data Brief:

As of Thursday, March 26, SMM copper inventories in major regions across China fell 18.29% WoW from last Thursday. Total inventory increased 92,900 mt YoY and has posted destocking for two consecutive weeks.

By region, in Shanghai, copper cathode inventory continued to pull back as downstream consumption boosted warehouse withdrawals well above warehouse inflows; in Jiangsu, downstream consumption recovered steadily, and inventory continued to decline in tandem; in Guangdong, consumption remained robust, coupled with tight supply in some areas, driving a faster pace of inventory decline.

Looking ahead, on the supply side, imported copper cargoes continued to arrive, while arrivals of domestically produced copper decreased somewhat; on the demand side, downstream enterprises mainly made just-in-time procurement. Based on the overall supply-demand pattern, China’s copper cathode supply is expected to remain tight next week, while consumption is expected to stay broadly stable, and weekly inventory is expected to continue destocking.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

Common.Time.hoursAgo

INE to Expand Tradable Options for Qualified Foreign Investors, Adding TSR 20 Rubber and Copper Contracts

According to an announcement by the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, with the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, effective April 22, 2026 (from the night continuous trading session on April 21), the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (hereinafter referred to as INE) will further expand the range of tradable products available to Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors and RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (collectively, Qualified Foreign Investors), with the newly added commodity options contracts open for trading as follows: TSR 20 rubber and international copper options contracts.

Common.Time.hoursAgo

SMM Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rate Rises Slightly to 70.77%, Market Performance Mediocre

[SMM Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rate] The operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 70.77% this week, up 0.24 percentage points MoM. Overall operating performance was stable, while market performance was relatively mediocre. During the week, the pullback in copper prices suppressed the release of new orders, but enterprises had ample orders on hand and pending delivery, supporting basically stable production. New orders across downstream segments were generally weak, with demand in the home decoration sector particularly mediocre due to rising plastic raw material prices.

Common.Time.hoursAgo

Copper Price Drop Drives Restocking, Raw Material and Finished Product Inventories Fall

[SMM Copper Flash News] Inventory at wire and cable enterprises this week: earlier pullbacks in copper prices drove concentrated restocking by enterprises, and raw material inventory mainly went toward consuming stockpiled materials this week, so raw material inventory fell 2.7% MoM. As for finished product inventories, the pullback in copper prices restrained downstream cargo pick-up, so finished product inventories edged down 2.65% MoM.

Common.Time.hoursAgo