How Does the Copper Foil Market Stand amid Drastically Falling Copper Prices?

[SMM Brass Billet Flash] Looking ahead to June, the industry's off-season effect continues to intensify, with little momentum for a market recovery. SMM expects the operating rate of the copper billet industry in June to fall 3.88 percentage points MoM to 45.39%, and 1.72 percentage points YoY, with the overall weak momentum in the industry persisting.

[SMM Brass Billet Flash] In May, the overall operating rate of copper billet enterprises stood at 49.27%, down 2.91 percentage points MoM and 0.65 percentage points YoY. By enterprise size, large enterprises, leveraging advantages in raw material channels and capital, maintained relatively stable production, with an operating rate of 56.01%; medium-sized enterprises were under notable pressure, with the rate dropping to 42.02%; small enterprises were hit by triple shocks—raw material shortages, losses, and insufficient orders—with the operating rate at only 24.96%. The operating rate gap among large, medium, and small enterprises continued to widen, and polarization in the industry intensified.

[SMM Brass Billet Express] La demande finale reste constamment faible et l’effet de substitution sur le marché devient de plus en plus évident. Sur le marché de l’utilisation finale, la demande traditionnelle de billettes de cuivre continue de se contracter. Pour maîtriser les coûts et s’aligner sur les exigences du marché, un nombre croissant de clients en aval se tournent progressivement vers des matériaux de remplacement, comme l’acier inoxydable et les plastiques, pour les produits en cuivre, détournant ainsi un volume important de commandes de billettes de cuivre.