As of Friday April 7, copper inventories in the domestic bonded zones decreased 9,500 mt from March 31 to 163,100 mt, according to the latest SMM survey. Inventory in the Guangdong bonded zone added 1,500 mt to 14,500 mt, and inventory in the Shanghai bonded zone fell 1,100 mt to 148,600 mt.
Traders locked in profits previously when the import window opened, resulting in a continuous increase in shipments from bonded zone inventories. Shipments of seaborne copper from bonded zone inventories are expected to slow down in the near term due to import losses and the sluggish China' quotes in domestic spot market.
Meanwhile, arriving shipments under bill of lading have been growing recently. A few traders stored cargoes into the Zhejiang bonded warehouse due to subsidies in Ningbo. SMM expects that copper inventories in Shanghai and Guangdong bonded zones will continue to fall next week but the decline will slow down further.
