LME Copper inventories fall to fresh low - ING

Copper inventories on the LME fell to the lowest level in almost two years, with withdrawals continuing at warehouses in Rotterdam. Thousands of tonnes of Copper have been withdrawn over the past few trading sessions, with Glencore the key trader behind these requests. It's making plans to deliver the metal, which is of Russian origin, to China, according to Bloomberg reports, ING's commodity experts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson note.

Copper inventories plunge as Glencore moves Russian metal to China

"Copper stocks in LME warehouses now stand at 83,000 tonnes, the lowest since August 2023. Meanwhile, Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) Copper inventories are at their lowest since 2022. The race to get Copper to the US after Trump launched an investigation on whether to impose import tariffs on the metal tightened markets elsewhere."

"Prices rose in yesterday's trading session following these withdrawals. Copper prices have been volatile since the beginning of the year, with this volatility mostly driven by tariff risks and China's uncertain outlook."

"Meanwhile, the latest commitments of traders report (COTR) shows that speculators decreased their net long position in aluminium by 2,957 lots to 89,957 lots for the week ending 23 May. Similarly, net bullish bets for Copper fell by 765 lots for a third consecutive week to 67,858 lots at the end of last week. By contrast, money managers increased net bullish bets for zinc by 1,112 lots to 12,338 lots -- the highest since the week ending on 11 April 2025."