During the week, copper inventories in major domestic regions continued to accumulate due to delivery impacts [SMM Weekly Data].

SMM January 15 News:

Data Brief: As of Thursday, January 15, SMM's national mainstream copper inventories increased 17.2% WoW, with total inventory up 212,800 mt YoY.

By region, Shanghai's copper cathode inventory saw significant buildup, mainly due to concentrated arrivals of domestic copper during the delivery cycle, coupled with weak consumption slowing warehouse withdrawals. Jiangsu inventories rose sharply, driven primarily by concentrated inflows for delivery warehouse needs. Guangdong inventories decreased slightly, benefiting from reduced arrivals and a marginal recovery in consumption.

Looking ahead, supply side, imported material remains low, and normal domestic copper arrivals decreased after the delivery period, leading to an overall supply contraction. Demand side, consumption shows marginal improvement after the copper price correction. Overall, the market is expected to see a pattern of "supply contraction and consumption improvement" next week, with weekly inventories anticipated to decline.