》Check SMM Copper Quotes, Data, and Market Analysis
》Subscribe to View SMM Historical Spot Metal Prices
Copper Cathode Rod: The weekly operating rate of major domestic copper cathode rod enterprises (2.21-2.27) slightly declined to 73.66%, down 0.59 percentage points MoM, 0.89 percentage points lower than the expected value, and down 0.68 percentage points YoY based on the second week after the Lantern Festival in the lunar calendar. Although two weeks have passed since the Lantern Festival, the recovery in end-use consumption and downstream enterprises' operations has fallen short of expectations. Downstream consumption remains weak YoY, and copper prices fluctuating at highs have further suppressed the pace of cargo pick-up by downstream enterprises. Near month-end, destocking pressure on copper cathode rod enterprises has not eased but instead increased. Several enterprises have scheduled maintenance and production cuts due to high inventory levels. However, as some top-tier enterprises resumed operations to consume raw material inventories, the weekly operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises only slightly declined. In terms of specific inventory, finished product inventories of copper cathode rod enterprises increased by 13.78% MoM to 66,900 mt due to weak consumption, while raw material inventories decreased by 4.34% MoM to 50,750 mt. Looking ahead, although consumption remains constrained by high copper prices with no significant recovery observed, most enterprises still expect a recovery in March consumption. The weekly operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises is expected to slightly increase by 0.77 percentage points MoM to 74.43% in the next week (2.28-3.6), up 3.11 percentage points YoY.
