Between January 2009 and October 2009, the price of copper has shot up 125%. However, inventories of copper, monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange, stood at 102,835 tonnes as on 30 October 2009, up from 17,822 tonnes at the start of the year. China’s copper imports more than doubled in the first nine months of the calendar year to 2.6 million metric tonnes. Even on the London Metal Exchange (LME), inventories of copper stood at 371,725 tonnes. Rising inventories on the LME indicate lack of recovery in demand outside China. Rising inventories, demand worries and a stronger dollar may weigh on the price of the red metal.