Weekend Copper Inventory Buildup Narrowed in Major Domestic Regions [SMM Weekly Data]

SMM News, March 9:

Data Commentary: As of Monday, March 9, SMM copper inventories in major regions nationwide increased 3.37% WoW from last Monday, and also showed an inventory buildup versus last Thursday, with divergent performance across regions.

Specifically, downstream consumption in Shanghai continued to improve, but concentrated arrivals of imported copper drove a slight inventory buildup; in Jiangsu, downstream demand recovered in tandem, yet arrivals of domestic copper increased, with market inflows and outflows basically balanced, and inventories showing a slight buildup; in Guangdong, driven by the pull back in copper prices and downstream enterprises resuming production, inventories continued to decline.

Looking ahead, imported copper is still expected to arrive in a concentrated manner, while arrivals of domestic copper are expected to remain stable, with overall supply increasing steadily; demand side, the pullback in copper prices effectively stimulated downstream consumption, with rigid demand gradually being released. Survey results showed that the weekly operating rate of copper cathode rod was expected to increase to 70.46% this week, up 7.99 percentage points WoW. Considering both supply and demand, the market currently shows a pattern of “rising supply and recovering consumption,” and social inventory was expected to see some destocking this week.