Continuing the sharp decline and potentially triggering a surge in prices, copper stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (ShFE) are expected to fall again this week.

Soaring prices for ShFe copper, a key metal for China's vast manufacturing sector, will draw more metal to the exchange's warehouses, making it unlikely that stocks will run out completely, traders said. Copper stocks on the ShFe fell by 32% to 116,753 tons last week, the largest percentage drop ever recorded, as local buyers took delivery of the metal purchased during a fall in prices at the beginning of the month. One of the traders said that ShFe's copper stocks could fall by an additional 10,000 tons when warehouse stocks are released on Wednesday, two days earlier than usual due to public holidays in China from May 1 to 5