Wait-and-see sentiment among cable end-users remained strong, and cable operating rates were under pressure during the week [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review]

This week (September 4–September 10), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises recorded 63.71%, down 2.93 percentage points WoW and down 3.91 percentage points YoY. During the week, copper prices fluctuated at highs overall, continuing to suppress the release of downstream orders. Although copper prices fell intraday, absolute price levels remained in a high range. Combined with overall weak downstream consumption, end-user wait-and-see sentiment was strong, and no batch orders were released. On the inventory side, high copper prices weakened the willingness of wire and cable enterprises to stockpile raw materials, with days of raw material inventories down 2.93% WoW. Sluggish end-use demand and insufficient willingness to pick up goods drove days of finished product inventories up 2.63% WoW. Looking ahead to next week (September 11–September 17), end-user clients, to avoid downside price risks, tend to wait for a slight rebound in copper prices before making just-in-time procurement. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable to continue to edge down 0.3 percentage points WoW to 63.41% next week, down 2.43 percentage points YoY. If copper prices see a slight rebound, the operating rate may outperform current expectations, and subsequent copper price changes warrant close tracking.