Copper Inventory in China Bonded Zone Dipped This Week but will Grow Next Week

SHANGHAI, Apr 21 (SMM) – As of Friday April 21, copper inventories in the domestic bonded zones dipped 100 mt from April 14 and stood at 155,700 mt, according to the latest SMM survey.

Inventory in the Guangdong bonded zone added 1,900 mt to 15,100 mt, while inventory in the Shanghai bonded zone dropped 2,000 mt to 140,600 mt. The SHFE/LME copper price ratio improved during the week but the overall import profit was poor.

Shipments from bonded zone inventories remained low as large sellers were liquidating inventories. In this scenario, the decline in bonded zone inventories slowed down further as expected.

Copper inventories in the bonded zone should grow slightly next week. From this weekend to next week, arriving shipments under bill of lading will increase, while some cargoes will go to Zhejiang due to import subsidy policy. This will limit the stock accumulation in the Shanghai bonded zone.