SHANGHAI, May 22 (SMM) – Operating rates at Chinese copper tube/pipe producers polled by SMM lately averaged 87.26% in April, down marginally by 0.31 percentage points from March.

Some air conditioner manufacturers stocked up on copper tube/pipe in March when copper prices were lower, depressing current demand.

Household air conditioner output increased only 0.1% in April to 13.45 million units. During the first quarter, retail sales of household air conditioner fell 1.9% YoY to 6.6 million units, which lowered sales value by 2.5% YoY to RMB 26.1 billion. However, the number of household air conditioners sold in domestic markets climbed 20% YoY during the first four months of 2014, indicating a the shift of air conditioner stocks from producers to distributors.

A cooler housing market in China may also take steam out of air conditioner consumption. Some copper tube/pipe producers reported shrinking orders in May as a result. Thus, SMM expected the average operating rate at these producers to inch down to 86.61% in May.