Copper Inventories in Chinese Bonded Zone Increased This Week

Copper inventories in the domestic bonded zone increased 11,700 mt from Friday February 24 to 185,200 mt as of Friday March 3, according to the latest SMM survey.

Inventories in Guangdong bonded warehouses fell by 3,500 mt to 17,500 mt, mainly due to increased outbound shipments. Inventories in the Shanghai bonded zone increased by 15,200 mt to 167,700 mt. The inventory growth was attributable to the exports by domestic smelters and the arrivals of cargoes under bill of lading at bonded warehouses.

Import losses stood at 600-1,200 yuan/mt this week. The enthusiasm for exporting by domestic smelters remained strong. Arriving shipments of seaborne copper under bill of lading were undesirable due to persistent import losses. Yangshan copper premiums went down. Most of the traders put cargoes into the bonded warehouses. Bonded zone inventories are set to grow further next week due to additional exports.