Shanghai bonded copper stocks rose 7,000 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Jan 17 (SMM) – Copper stocks across Shanghai bonded areas rose this week for a fifth consecutive week, increasing 7,000 mt from a week ago to 272,000 mt as of January 17, showed SMM data.

Continued import losses depressed trades of seaborne copper before the Chinese New Year holiday. China’s imports of copper cathode hit a record high in December and greater volumes of cargoes moved to the bonded warehouses on the back of low prices. This lifted the bonded copper stocks significantly over the past two weeks, with an accumulative buildup of 24,000 mt during the period. 

Holiday-thinned trades are expected to continue to grow the bonded stocks next week.