Multiple Regions See a Contraction in Supply Arrivals, Copper Social Inventory Continues to Decline [SMM Weekly Data]

Published: Jul 16, 2026 14:48

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SMM July 16 News:

Data Briefing: As of Thursday, July 16, SMM copper inventories in major domestic regions decreased by 41,600 mt WoW to 123,400 mt, with total inventories down 19,900 mt YoY from 143,300 mt in the same period last year.

Specifically, in Shanghai, arrivals of both imported and domestic copper contracted simultaneously, resulting in significant destocking; in Jiangsu, inventories continued to decline, driven by tighter domestic copper arrivals; in Guangdong, the scale of arrivals declined, and coupled with mediocre end-use demand, regional supply-demand conditions were weak, causing inventories to edge down.

Looking ahead, supply side, near-term imported supply arrivals are limited, and domestic copper supply remains at a low level; demand side, the market is still in the traditional consumption off-season, with downstream enterprises largely maintaining a procure-as-needed pace. Currently, spot circulating cargo is tight overall, with transactions predominantly for immediate needs. Next week, national copper social inventories are expected to continue the destocking trend.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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