China’s Unusually Large Copper Stockpiles Fuel Demand Concerns
- Inventories belie recent price record and fears of a shortage
- Yangshan premium on imports has been negative since last month
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China’s copper inventories are growing at exactly the time of year when they should be shrinking fast — an anomaly that underscores concerns about demand in the world’s biggest market.
Stockpiles of the metal held in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses ended last week well above 300,000 tons. That’s not the biggest volume ever, but it is the most for any end-of-May date on record. In China’s highly seasonal economy, inventories typically peak in March and slide lower as factories ramp up activity heading into the summer.