The volume of copper stocks held in Shanghai bonded warehouses has fallen from a 23-month high in mid-July because of an improving arbitrage window between London and Shanghai, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 30.
But over recent weeks, stocks of aluminium, nickel and zinc in the bonded zone have all increased.
The fall in copper inventories, although small, was the first decrease in almost six months, and came on increased import activity in the latter half of July.
Fastmarkets assessed
Shanghai bonded copper stocks at 420,000-434,000 tonnes on July 26, up by 1,000 tonnes compared with 419,000-433,000 tonnes on June 28.
China's import appetite for copper cathodes began to grow in mid-July in response to improving arbitrage terms.
According to Fastmarkets' calculation of the
copper import arbitrage, importing the red metal into China involved an average loss of $24.16 per tonne during the second half of July, compared with an average loss of $74.43 per tonne during the first half of the month.
Market interest in bonded cathodes was particularly strong because of a high premium...