An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “China’s Stock and Ore for Copper Prices” (November 22,2013) describes the over two months of copper concentrate (crushed copper ore) in inventory at China’s new smelters as against the usual two to three weeks of supply. But will this raw material inventory at the new Chinese smelters mean no price increases for copper if manufacturing picks up in China ? Are the purchases to fill raw material inventory masking the demand decline in the past ? Will the new production capacity for copper further create price drops for copper in the future ?