SHANGHAI, Jan 20 (SMM) - As of Friday January 20, SMM copper inventory across major Chinese markets increased 42,400 mt from Monday to 196,600 mt, up 61,100 mt from last Friday. The inventory has increased for four consecutive weeks since the end of December, which was caused by the poor downstream consumption approaching the Chinese New Year. Compared with Monday's data, the inventories across various regions grew this week. The total inventory was 107,600 mt higher than in the same period last year when the figure was 89,000 mt. The inventory in Shanghai grew 61,600 mt YoY, the inventory in Guangdong added 12,600 mt YoY, the inventory in Jiangsu rose 29,300 mt on the year, and the inventory in Zhejiang gained 3,600 mt year-on-year.

In detail, the inventory in Shanghai grew 27,100 mt to 125,500 mt compared with Monday, and the inventory in Jiangsu added 3,000 mt to 36,600 mt, which was contributed by the increased arrivals at domestic smelters. And the inventory in Guangdong rose 10,300 mt to 25,400 mt. Inventories in various places have increased significantly this week. The smelters did not stop production approaching the Chinese New Year holiday, while the downstream companies were on holiday. In such a context, the smelters had to ship copper cathode to warehouses.

Looking forward, although the export window has been opened recently, the smelters will ship a small amount of the goods to bonded zone warehouses or neighbouring countries. Most of their goods will be shipped to the domestic market. Therefore, SMM expects that the inventory will continue to increase post-holiday.