China exchange copper stocks drop for 6th straight week to below 100,000 tonnes
- Copper stocks fall 9.1% w/w to lowest since Jan 2019.
- Tin stocks drop to their lowest since April 2017.
SINGAPORE: Copper inventories in warehouses tracked by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) fell below 100,000 tonnes for the first time in more than 17 months on Wednesday on tight scrap supply and solid Chinese demand.
In the week ended June 24, copper stocks in ShFE warehouses fell 9.1% to 99,971 tonnes, their lowest since Jan. 11, 2019, exchange data showed. That compared to 380,085 tonnes in March, which was the highest level so far this year.
Copper users consume both scrap and refined copper as input materials. Tight scrap supply lead to a greater draw on the refined metal stored in ShFE warehouses.
China, the world's biggest user of the red metal, is expected to consume 11.4 million tonnes of refined copper this year, according to research house Antaike in a February forecast, or an average consumption to 950,000 tonnes a month.
Tin stocks dropped 10.1% on-week to their lowest since April 2017 of 3,106 tonnes, and aluminium stockpiles declined 6.3% to 223,715 tonnes, their lowest since Jan. 17 this year.
Lead stocks in ShFE warehouses continued to rise but the rate of increase has slowed, adding 1.5% over the week to 23,333 tonnes, their highest since March 13.
Zinc inventories edged up 0.9% to 97,705 tonnes and nickel stockpiles gained 2.2% to 28,991 tonnes.
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