SHANGHAI, Oct 15 (SMM) – As of Friday October 15, the copper inventory in the mainstream Chinese market fell 7,200 mt from Monday October 11 to 105,200 mt. The decrease was mainly contributed by Guangdong, Shanghai and Jiangsu, whose inventory fell 5,200 mt, 4,300 mt and 800 mt to 9,300 mt, 75,700 mt and 12,500 mt, respectively.
The fall in copper inventory was mainly caused by less arrivals of imported copper and the restricted production of domestic smelters. However, the situation has been different in Tianjin, where the operating rates of copper processing companies fell greatly amid power rationing against the downstream sector and wide price spread of copper rod produced by copper cathode and copper scrap. Therefore, the inventory in Tianjin added from the previous session.
Looking forward, the social inventory increased more slowly than expected, and the volume and domestic output and imports have both been at a low level. SMM believes that the situation will extend to next week. The social inventory is likely to fall again as the power rationing is expected to ease in the following weak, and the supply will stay tight amid modest demand.
