According to SMM, the operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises was 66.07% in September, up 3.43 percentage points MoM, up 2.38 percentage points from expectations, and down 4.23 percentage points YoY.Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 76.62%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 49.66%, and that of small enterprises was 59.41%.
The operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises was 66.07% in September, up 3.43 percentage points MoM and down 4.23 percentage points YoY. (The operating rate in September last year was 70.3%.)
Overall, driven by the National Day holiday in October, downstream users had pre-holiday stockpiling demand, and copper cathode rod enterprises proactively scheduled production, with production enthusiasm picking up somewhat. However, copper prices fluctuated at highs in September, and the elevated price spread between futures contracts suppressed downstream purchase willingness. The market was dominated by a wait-and-see sentiment, and actual stockpiling fell short of earlier expectations. By downstream sector, the two core consumption segments, wire and cable and enamelled wire, were both supported by pre-holiday stockpiling, with production recovering modestly. Foreign trade remained relatively stable, with September order volumes showing little change from August, but overall export volumes stayed low, providing limited boost to domestic copper cathode rod operating rates.
In September, days of raw material inventories at copper cathode rod enterprises stood at 1.78 days, and days of finished product inventories at 3.51 days.
High copper prices, tight spot supply, and high premiums suppressed raw material purchases by rod enterprises, with days of raw material inventories down 0.25 days MoM. On the finished product side, enterprises had originally planned to increase output before the holiday, but high copper prices and high premiums dragged on some production schedules that failed to materialize. Coupled with continuous downstream cargo pick-up before the holiday, finished product inventories were also destocked, with days of finished product inventories down 0.34 days MoM.
The operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises is expected to be 61.03% in October.
Looking ahead to October, the operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises is expected to decrease by 5.04 percentage points MoM to 61.03%, down 0.12 percentage points YoY.The decline is mainly due to fewer production days during the National Day holiday, leading to a notable weakening in operating rates.
