SHANGHAI, Jan 6 (SMM) - As of Friday January 6, SMM copper inventory across major Chinese markets added 8,200 mt from Tuesday January 3 to 117,500 mt, up 19,500 mt from last Friday. Compared with Tuesday's data, the inventory in Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu rose, while that in Guangdong and Tianjin decreased slightly. The total inventory was 33,800 mt higher than in the same period last year when the figure was 83,700 mt. The inventory in Shanghai grew 24,500 mt YoY, the inventory in Guangdong dipped 4,600 mt YoY, the inventory in Jiangsu rose 12,900 mt on the year, and the inventory in Zhejiang added 3,800 mt year-on-year.
In detail, the inventory in Shanghai increased 11,500 mt to 68,200 mt compared with Tuesday. The consumption grew compared with last week, but the shipments from domestic smelters were much higher. Smelters in north China ramped up the shipments to east China owing to the poor local consumption, which contributed to the increase in inventory in Shanghai. Inventory in Guangdong dipped 2,900 mt to 6,400 mt. Shipments from nearby smelters were reduced due to their maintenance. Besides, some downstream companies intend to have their Chinese New Year holiday early next week, so they restocked some raw materials amid the falling copper prices this week, which can also be reflected in the increase in the daily shipments flowing out of the warehouses in Guangdong. The decline in inventory in Tianjin was caused by the growing shipments from smelters in north-east China to the east.

Looking forward, the arrival of imported copper will not grow greatly next week, but that of domestic copper will rise WoW. Smelters will increase their shipments of goods to warehouses for delivery owing to the decrease in local consumption. SMM survey showed that most downstream companies will take their Chinese New Year holiday 4-6 days earlier than in previous years, and the operating rates of enterprises that maintain the normal production before the Chinese New Year will drop compared with the previous year. SMM believes that the supply will grow while the consumption may weaken next week, and the inventory will increase further.