Cable Operating Rate Edges up WoW; End-User Caution Caps Weekly Gain [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review]

For the week (June 19 - June 25), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises came in at 70.38%, up 1.11 percentage points WoW and up 0.2 percentage points YoY. During the week, declining copper prices slightly stimulated new orders in the market, but end-users generally waited for lower purchasing prices, with strong wait-and-see sentiment, and the price decline had limited boost on orders. In terms of end-use demand, scattered small orders increased somewhat as prices fell, but the incremental increase in core orders from the two major grids was relatively limited. On the inventory front, enterprises restocked raw materials on dips, but mainly priced first and then picked up goods as needed, without engaging in large-scale stockpiling. Raw material inventories rose by 2.71% WoW. At the initial decline in copper prices, downstream players concentrated on picking up goods, driving destocking of finished product inventories; subsequently, as the market continued to wait and see, finished product inventories fell by 1.86% WoW. Looking ahead to next week, the rebound in copper prices at the end of the week generated some orders, which will be scheduled for production next week. However, as expectations of low prices continue to suppress the market procurement pace, SMM expects that the operating rate of copper wire and cable will increase by another 1.6 percentage points WoW to 71.98% during the week (June 26 - July 2), and by 1.8 percentage points YoY.