Copper Inventories in Shanghai Bonded Zone Grow Further This Week, SMM Reports 

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, SMM recorded social inventory in Shanghai at 66,100 mt, down 10,400 mt WoW from last Thursday, while Jiangsu recorded 19,600 mt, up 100 mt WoW from last Thursday. Available spot supply remains tight, hovering at a low for the year, with the destocking trend unchanged, pushing the center of spot premiums higher and hitting a new high for the year. Meanwhile, the spot price spread between Shanghai and Guangdong widened further, opening the window for cross-regional shipments. According to SMM, some suppliers have already initiated cargo transfers from Guangdong to Shanghai, with the shipped copper cathode expected to arrive in the Shanghai market this week. If arrivals are substantial, this could provide marginal relief to the current tight spot market. However, given the limited scale of near-term arrivals and the fact that absolute inventory levels remain low, the downward pressure on premiums is expected to be relatively limited. On balance, with tightness in available supply persisting in the near term, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2608 contract are expected to remain at a premium tomorrow.