Copper inventories in major regions across the country increased slightly by 500 mt during the week [SMM weekly data]

SMM News on June 26:

As of Thursday, June 26, copper inventories in major regions across China tracked by SMM increased slightly by 500 mt from Monday to 130,100 mt, a decrease of 15,800 mt compared to last Thursday. Currently, inventories are only 10,000 mt higher than the previous low, and there is a possibility of reaching a new low in the future, being 269,000 mt lower than the 399,100 mt recorded in the same period last year.

》Click to apply for access to the SMM Metal Industry Chain Database            

     Specifically, inventories in the Shanghai region decreased by 400 mt from Monday to 94,000 mt, while inventories in Jiangsu decreased by 3,400 mt to 11,700 mt. According to our understanding, the decrease in shipments was due to export activities by smelters, coupled with limited supplementary imported copper, leading to a decline in inventories in east China. Inventories in the Guangdong region increased by 0.2 to 17,500 mt. Although consumption increased this week, as reflected by the continuous rise in the daily average outflows from warehouses in Guangdong, the increase in supply was more significant. As the mid-year approaches, some suppliers have a need to realize cash, leading to an increase in the volume of copper sent to warehouses, which caused total inventories to rise. In contrast, inventories in the southwest and north China regions increased due to poor consumption.

     Looking ahead, we expect that next week, both arrivals of imported copper and domestically produced copper will be relatively low, with total supply being less than that of last week. Regarding downstream consumption, with the completion of mid-year settlements, consumption is expected to be better next week than this week. Therefore, we anticipate that next week will see a decrease in supply and an increase in demand, with weekly inventories possibly continuing to decline.