Copper stocks in Shanghai bonded warehouses rose to a 23-month high in the month of June as a result of a closed arbitrage window between London and Shanghai.
During the same period, aluminium and zinc stocks in the bonded zone fell, while the stock level for nickel edged slightly higher.
Copper inventories at 23-month high
The rise in Shanghai bonded copper stocks came despite a pick-up in spot activity late in the month, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets assessed
Shanghai bonded copper stocks at 419,000-433,000 tonnes on June 28, up by 18,000 tonnes, or 4.4%, from 401,000-415,000 tonnes on May 31. This is its highest level since July 15, 2019.
The arbitrage window between London and Shanghai remained firmly closed in June, but the loss narrowed toward the end of the month, leading to an improvement in spot activity, sources said.
"The import arbitrage loss briefly narrowed to around 200 yuan ($30.90) per tonne, based on my calculations, and this did support some spot business," a Shanghai-based trader said.
"We saw some...