This Week, Copper Inventories in Major Domestic Regions Continued to Build Up [SMM Weekly Data]

Published: Mar 5, 2026 14:42

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SMM News, March 5:

Data Brief: As of Thursday, March 5, SMM copper inventories in major regions nationwide increased 8.56% WoW from last Thursday, with total inventories up 209,200 mt YoY versus the same period last year, showing divergent performance across regions.

By region, Shanghai’s copper cathode inventories continued to build up. Despite some recovery in consumption, inventories still trended upward due to continued arrivals of imported cargoes; in Jiangsu, recovering downstream consumption drove a slight destocking; in Guangdong, downstream enterprise consumption gradually recovered, and inventories edged down.

Looking ahead, on the supply side, imported cargoes are expected to continue arriving at ports, while deliveries of domestic supply are expected to remain stable. On the demand side, downstream enterprises have resumed work and production; coupled with a pullback in copper prices, consumption has recovered notably. Based on the overall supply-demand pattern, supply is expected to remain normal next week and consumption is expected to recover steadily, with weekly inventories expected to see some destocking.

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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