China's PMI Indices Decline in July, Impacting Copper Demand and Consumption Recovery

This week (August 14-August 20), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises came in at 65.8%, up 3.55 percentage points WoW and down 3.08 percentage points YoY. Copper prices retreated from highs during the week, which briefly boosted downstream cargo pick-up willingness. However, bearish sentiment re-emerged in the later period, keeping downstream players on the sidelines. Overall orders only showed marginal recovery. The sharp rebound in the operating rate this week was also affected by the low base in the prior week.

According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, demand in various countries for wire and cable exports to markets outside China generally declined in July 2026. Australia remained firmly in first place in exports, with exports up 20.94% MoM; the Philippines and Vietnam followed, down 28.92% MoM and 26.46% MoM respectively, ranking second and third among export destinations. The combined exports of these three countries accounted for 19.53% of total copper wire and cable exports.

[Latest Data from the General Administration of Customs] In July 2026, China's exports of wire and cable were 277,500 mt, down 7.43% MoM and up 6.62% YoY. The cumulative exports from January to July 2026 were 1.8464 million mt, up 9.26% YoY. Among them, exports of copper wire and cable were 133,100 mt, down 10.67% MoM and up 8.51% YoY; the cumulative exports from January to July 2026 were 915,800 mt, up 15.44% YoY.