As of Thursday, November 7, SMM copper inventories in major regions across the country decreased by 5,600 mt compared to Monday, reaching 192,500 mt, and decreased by 17,300 mt compared to last Thursday, marking the third consecutive week of weekly destocking. Compared to Monday, inventories in most regions across the country decreased, with only Jiangsu's inventory increasing. Total inventory was 136,200 mt higher compared to 56,300 mt in the same period last year, with Shanghai's inventory 101,000 mt higher YoY, Jiangsu's inventory 16,900 mt higher YoY, and Guangdong's inventory 19,400 mt higher YoY.
Specifically, Shanghai's inventory decreased by 1,400 mt compared to Monday, reaching 145,500 mt, mainly due to a reduction in domestic copper arrivals. Jiangsu's inventory slightly increased by 1,600 mt to 18,700 mt. Although arrivals in this region were also limited, the less favorable prices in Jiangsu compared to Shanghai led to reduced outflows from warehouses, resulting in an inventory increase. Guangdong's inventory decreased by 5,500 mt to 24,600 mt, with both imported and domestic arrivals being limited and good consumption reflected in the continuous rise in Guangdong's daily outflows from warehouses.
Looking ahead, although imported copper is expected to arrive next week, domestic copper arrivals will be even less, so total supply is expected to decrease. On the downstream consumption side, with a significant drop in copper prices, consumption next week is expected to be better than this week. Therefore, we believe that next week will see a decrease in supply and an increase in demand, with weekly inventories expected to continue to decline.
