Copper stocks at Shanghai-bonded warehouses rose for a fourth consecutive month in February due to sustained import losses between London and Shanghai, causing the bonded copper warrant premium to slide to its lowest level since May 2017.
Zinc stocks in the Shanghai-bonded zone recorded another sharp month-on-month increase in February on the expectation of an uptick in domestic demand, while nickel and aluminium inventories showed more modest rises.Copper stocks hit four-month high Copper stocks in Shanghai-bonded warehouses increased for the fourth month in a row in February against a backdrop of widening losses on importing the metal into China.Shanghai-bonded copper stocks totaled 460,000-470,000 tonnes at the end of February, increasing by 4.8% from 441,000-446,000 tonnes a month prior, according to Fastmarkets' latest assessment. February's stock levels were unchanged on a year-on-year comparison, but are 21.3% higher than the 2018 low of 318,000-386,000 tonnes recorded in October.Market participants attributed the continuous rise in Shanghai-bonded copper stocks to the growing losses incurred by bringing copper into China from the bonded zone. Importers stood to lose an average of $167.33 for each tonne of copper brought into the country in...