SHANGHAI, Apr 1 (SMM) - As of April 1, SMM copper inventory across major Chinese markets dropped 4,500 mt from Monday to 137,700 mt, a decrease of 11,100 mt from last Friday. Destocking this week is slower than that in last week. Weak consumption aroused by the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in the decline of inventory this week. Compared with the data on Monday, except for the inventory in Guangdong and Chongqing, the inventory in other parts of China slightly decrease. In detail, the inventories in Shanghai decreased 7,000 mt to 79,200 mt, the inventories in Jiangsu dropped 1,000 mt to 6,200 mt, the inventory in Zhejiang fell 400 mt to 600 mt, and the inventory in Tianjin dipped 200 mt to 2,600 mt. The inventory in Guangdong increased 3,700 mt to 44,600 mt, and the inventory in Chongqing increased 400 mt to 2,000 mt.
In east China, especially in Shanghai and Jiangsu, the logistics efficiency has been seriously reduced due to the pandemic this week. SMM believes that this situation will last at least until April 5, so it is expected that the local inventory will rise during the Tomb-sweeping holiday The increase of inventory in Guangdong is mainly contributed by the overhaul of some copper rod enterprises with poor consumption this week and the concentrated arrival of imported copper. In addition, the poor inter-provincial logistics in the early stage have improved this week, and the arrival of domestic copper has also increased. Oversupply leads to an increase in inventory.
Looking forward, due to the poor consumption caused by the pandemic, SMM expects that there will be an accumulation of inventory during the Tomb-sweeping holiday. Whether the inventory can decline or not after the holiday depends on the degree of pandemic control in east China.
Disclaimer:
The above representation and data is based on market information SMM believes to be reliable at the time of acquiring as well as the comprehensive assessment by SMM research team, and any and all information provided in this article is for reference only. This article does not constitute a direct recommendation for investment or any decisions in any form and clients shall act on their own discreet and any decisions made by clients are not within the responsibility of SMM.
