Copper inventories in major regions across the country increased slightly by 3,000 mt over the weekend [SMM weekly data]

SMM May 12 News:

       As of Monday, May 12, SMM copper inventories in major regions across China increased by 3,000 mt WoW to 123,100 mt. Compared to the inventory changes from last Friday, the inventory changes varied across regions. Total inventory was 277,000 mt lower than the 400,100 mt recorded in the same period last year, with Shanghai's inventory 186,900 mt lower YoY, Guangdong's 39,500 mt lower, and Jiangsu's 44,800 mt lower.

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    Specifically, inventory in Shanghai increased by 3,600 mt from last Thursday to 90,000 mt. Affected by the large price spread between futures contracts, downstream cargo pick-up slowed down, leading to an increase in inventory in the region. Inventory in Jiangsu decreased by 500 mt from last Thursday to 11,700 mt, while inventory in Guangdong decreased by 700 mt to 14,600 mt. Although consumption in these two regions was also weak, as reflected by the recent low daily average outflows from warehouses in Guangdong, the total inventory decreased slightly due to even lower arrivals.

    Looking ahead, it is understood that imported copper arrivals will be limited this week, and domestic copper arrivals are also unlikely to increase significantly. Therefore, total supply is expected to remain tight. On the consumption side, affected by the large price spread between futures contracts, downstream restocking enthusiasm is expected to be weak before delivery (this Friday), and consumption this week is expected to be sluggish. Therefore, we believe that both supply and demand will be weak during the week, and inventory is expected to increase slightly during the week but is projected to resume declining next week.