High Copper Prices Continued to Suppress Purchase Willingness; Order-Taking and Operating Rates Continued to Pull Back [SMM Enamelled Wire Market Weekly Review]

This week (8.21-8.27), the MoM operating rate of machines in the enamelled wire industry fell 0.4 percentage points to 71.87%. During the week, copper prices continued to fluctuate at highs; downstream fear of high prices heated up again and purchase willingness weakened. New orders performed poorly, driving this week’s order intake down 3.70% MoM. Inventory side, affected by weaker orders and a slowdown in shipments, finished product inventory days rose to 10.45 days this week, and finished product inventory pressure re-emerged at some enterprises. Overall, high copper prices and insufficient off-season demand formed a dual drag; coupled with typhoon weather in Zhejiang that led some motor plants to suspend production, demand faced a phased setback. The enamelled wire industry extended its relatively weak trend. The industry’s machine operating rate was expected to pull back to 70.13% next week, and the market was unlikely to see a clear improvement in the short term.