SHANGHAI, Jul 10 (SMM) – Stocks of copper in Shanghai bonded areas have increased after two consecutive weeks of decline, as elevated copper futures depressed domestic consumption and widened discounts of copper scrap squeezed demand for refined copper.

SMM data showed that the stocks rebounded 1,500 mt week on week to 210,000 mt as of Friday July 10, following after a decline of 1,000 mt in the prior week.

SMM assessed the price spread between copper scrap and refined copper has expanded to more than 2,200 yuan/mt. This week, the import arbitrage window remained closed and the demand for seaborne copper was weak. This also accounted for the rebound in the bonded inventories.