Weak Demand, Brass Billet Operating Rates Remained Low [SMM Brass Billet Market Weekly Review]

        This week (5.15-5.21), the brass billet industry remained in the doldrums, with an operating rate of 52.14%, down 0.2 percentage points WoW. Supply side, the recycled brass raw materials market exhibited a pattern of "tight supply and high prices," significantly constraining production. On one hand, the tight supply of imported secondary brass remained unresolved, and domestic scrap brass recycling volume was limited, with market circulating resources remaining persistently tight; on the other hand, raw material prices fluctuated at highs, squeezing enterprise profit margins. Most enterprises saw raw material inventory continuously declining to low levels, and some small and medium-sized enterprises were forced to slow down their production pace due to difficulties in raw material procurement.Demand side, the traditional off-season effect continued to intensify, with no improvement in weak end-use demand from downstream.Order follow-through in core downstream sectors such as home appliances, refrigeration, and bathroom hardware remained sluggish. End-users exhibited strong wait-and-see sentiment, and purchase willingness was subdued. Affected by this, brass billet enterprises saw a slowdown in order-taking pace, downstream cargo pick-up enthusiasm was insufficient, and product shipments were sluggish, leading to continued accumulation of finished product inventories at relatively high levels. Looking ahead to next week (5.22-5.28), the industry's traditional off-season nature is difficult to reverse, and end-use demand from downstream is unlikely to see substantial recovery; meanwhile, copper prices are expected to continue fluctuating at highs, cost side disturbances persist, and the tight supply pattern of recycled brass raw materials is unlikely to ease in the short term.SMM expects the industry operating rate to continue running at low levels, declining 0.06 percentage points WoW to 52.08%.