Copper inventories in the domestic bonded zone increased 6,200 mt from August 4 to 67,300 mt as of Friday August 11, according to the latest SMM survey.
Inventory in the Shanghai bonded zone grew 6,200 mt to 57,400 mt, and inventory in the Guangdong bonded zone held flat. This week, domestic bonded zone inventories accumulated as expected. Most of the cargoes exported by one smelter in east China arrived in the domestic bonded area, and a small part will arrive in the bonded warehouses next week. The SHFE/LME copper price ratio continued to recover during the week, and there was import profit against the SHFE front-month copper contract. These, combined with the contango of LME cash to the three-month copper contract, kept seaborne copper under warrants in demand, with the quotation period in August. That drove shipments from bonded zone inventories to grow. The bonded zone inventories will fall next week after the delivery.
