SHANGHAI, Mar 19 (SMM) — Stocks of copper in Shanghai bonded areas increased on larger arrivals for the fifth consecutive week.
 
SMM data showed that the stocks rose 5,900 mt from the prior week to 377,800 mt as of Friday March 19.
 
The recovery of domestic consumption was not as expected and the price difference between refined copper and copper scrap stood at over 2,000 yuan/mt. The copper scrap was squeezing out refined copper, and the turning point of domestic inventories did not arrive. The import window continued to close this week, which made it hard to boost the domestic demand for customs declaration and import. Yangshan copper premium continued to decline, and some cargoes flowed into the bonded warehouse one after another, which led to the increase in inventories in the bonded area this week.