China Copper Social Inventory Destocked for Four Consecutive Weeks, Smelting Maintenance Led to Tight Supply [SMM Weekly Data]

SMM April 9 News:

Data Brief: As of Thursday, April 9, SMM copper inventories across major regions nationwide decreased 13.06% WoW from last Thursday. Total inventories increased 52,200 mt YoY, and have been destocking for four consecutive weeks.

By region, Shanghai saw continued inventory pullback driven by smelters gradually entering maintenance cycles, tightening arrivals, and downstream maintaining normal cargo pick-up pace. Jiangsu saw steady downstream consumption and steady destocking. Guangdong, although consumption has weakened recently, limited arrivals remained the primary driver of inventory decline.

Outlook: Supply side, imported copper is arriving at ports successively, while domestic copper arrivals remain low due to smelting maintenance. Demand side, downstream enterprises are mainly making just-in-time procurement, restocking as needed in line with production pace. Based on the overall supply-demand pattern, China's copper cathode supply is expected to remain tight in the short term, with consumption generally stabilizing. Social inventory is expected to continue destocking next week.