Weak Off-Season Demand and Persistent Raw Material Constraints Lead to Slight Pullback in Brass Billet Operating Rates [SMM Brass Billet Market Weekly Review]

Published: Jul 10, 2026 13:31

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This week (7.3-7.9), SMM weekly operating rate of brass billet sample enterprises stood at 49.96%, pulling back 0.84 percentage points WoW, with production under further pressure. Fluctuating copper prices, coupled with tight supply of recycled brass raw materials and high procurement costs, dampened enterprises' willingness to restock raw materials, as days of raw material inventories dropped to 3.8 days. Raw material turnover constraints continued to suppress output, and production edged down WoW this week. The traditional downstream off-season demand persisted, with orders for plumbing, sanitary ware, and home appliances seeing limited growth, while end-users took a wait-and-see approach to purchasing. The pace of finished product destocking was weak, as days of finished product inventories rose to 5.29 days, adding to the pressure from finished product backlogs. Looking ahead to next week (7.10-7.16), end-user off-season demand is unlikely to recover noticeably, and the situation of high-priced raw materials constraining production remains unchanged. SMM expects the industry operating rate to pull back slightly to 49.58%, extending the industry's low-level operation trend.

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