Post-holiday inventory continues to build up, with YoY levels still at lows [SMM Weekly Data]

SMM, October 12:

Data summary: As of Monday, October 12, SMM national mainstream copper inventories across China rose 34,000 mt WoW to above 100,000 mt, with total inventories down 64,300 mt YoY from around 170,000 mt in the same period last year.

By region, east China continued to see inventory buildup driven by concentrated arrivals of imported and domestic copper, making it the main contributor to this week's growth; south China saw inventories pull back due to reduced arrivals and rebounding warehouse withdrawals.

Overall, supply-side arrivals of both imported and domestic copper increased; demand-side, higher copper prices combined with a wide price spread between futures contracts led downstream buyers to hold off on purchases, resulting in overall inventory buildup. For complete regional inventory data, historical series, and detailed changes, please log in to the SMM data terminal.