Copper Inventories in Major Regions Across the Country Dropped by 2,600 mt This Week [SMM Weekly Data]

SMM Mar 20 News: As of Thursday, March 20, SMM national mainstream copper inventories fell by 2,600 mt to 346,400 mt from Monday, and decreased by 9,100 mt compared to the previous Thursday, achieving a destocking for three consecutive weeks. Currently, it has pulled back by 30,600 mt from the year's high and is 48,600 mt lower YoY. 》Click to apply for access to the SMM Metal Industry Chain Database Specifically, Shanghai region inventory increased by 4,500 mt to 235,900 mt from Monday. The main reason for the increase in inventory was weaker downstream consumption due to higher copper prices, and another factor was that registered warrants remained at a yearly high (85,300 mt), making it difficult for Shanghai inventories to decrease. Jiangsu region inventory dropped by 1,200 mt to 60,400 mt, mainly due to reduced arrivals. Guangdong region inventory decreased by 0.6 to 42,800 mt, with very few arrivals (due to smelters exporting, increased direct shipments from smelters, and increased consumption in other provinces leading to fewer shipments to Guangdong). Consumption in this region still maintained a high level, as reflected by the high daily average outflows from warehouses, which also showed an increase compared to last year. Looking ahead, with increased exports and reduced imports, we expect supply to remain low next week. On the demand side, influenced by the continuous rise in copper prices, new orders from downstream enterprises have already started to decrease, and consumption next week will be lower than this week. Therefore, we believe that both supply and demand will be weak next week, but supply will be less than demand, so weekly inventories will continue to decline.