As of Friday May 19, copper inventories in the domestic bonded zones decreased 11,300 mt from May 12 to 138,700 mt, according to the latest SMM survey. Inventories in the Guangdong bonded zone added 2,000 mt to 17,200 mt, while inventories in the Shanghai bonded zone dropped 11,500 mt to 121,500 mt.
This week, available cargoes in the domestic spot market were tight, driving spot premiums to surge. Meanwhile, the continuous depreciation of the yuan ensured import profit, driving shipments to leave bonded zones. Arriving shipments under bill of lading will grow next week, but actual shipments arrivals in the bonded zones will be lower than shipments from bonded zone inventories. Most of the arriving shipments under bill of lading have been purchased by downstream buyers. In this scenario, bonded zone inventories will fall further.

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