Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rates Rose Slightly This Week; Copper Prices Shot Up, Suppressing the Release of New Orders [SMM Weekly Review of the Wire and Cable Market]

This week (August 21–August 27), the SMM operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises came in at 66.51%, up 0.71 percentage points MoM and down 3.08 percentage points YoY. During the week, copper prices shot up, directly suppressing the release of new orders for wire and cable; downstream enterprises showed insufficient purchase willingness, and most enterprises relied on earlier orders on hand to maintain basic operations this week. Inventory side, affected by the early-week surge in copper prices, wire and cable enterprises showed weak willingness to purchase raw materials, mainly picking up goods to meet rigid demand from earlier pricing orders, and raw material inventory fell 2.8% MoM; alongside cargo pick-up for earlier low-priced orders, finished product inventories decreased 1.28% MoM. Looking ahead to next week, the market held weak expectations for a consumption recovery in early September; coupled with copper prices remaining at high levels, order sustainability was suppressed. Therefore, SMM expected that next week (August 28–September 3) the operating rate of copper wire and cable would continue to fall 1.32 percentage points MoM to 65.19%, down 4.08 percentage points YoY.