SMM Weekly Survey on Scrap Copper Inventories

SHANGHAI, Aug. 1 (SMM) –Scrap copper inventories experienced declines after continuous fluctuations last week, cutting turnover days to two days. Scrap copper prices were held firm last week, which helped the price gap between scrap and refined copper reduce to RMB 1,600-1,900/mt. As high copper prices curbed market demand, increasing scrap copper prices also reflected market status of shortfalls. Since the beginning of this year, a continuously unfavorable price ratio and decreasing scrap copper discounts narrowed profit margins or even caused losses for importing scrap copper, which directly propelled importers to give up importing high-quality scrap copper and gradually shift to imports of low-quality scrap to avoid price volatility risks. Some cargo-holders made sell-offs of their inventories at highs last week, as turnover days for scrap copper inventories kept falling. However, with no new goods arriving, scrap copper inventories would likely fall further.