China Base Metal Output Data in April 2017, SMM Exclusive Data

[SMM Copper Wire and Cable Weekly Inventory] Despite the approaching Labour Day holiday, overall enterprise stockpiling sentiment remained cautious due to high copper prices. As a result, raw material inventories of mainstream copper wire and cable enterprises in China edged up 2.58% WoW. Finished product inventories side, some wire and cable enterprises suspended quotations during the Labour Day holiday, and some end-users cautiously picked up goods in advance, driving finished product inventories down slightly by 2.42% WoW.

This week (April 24–April 30), the SMM operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises was 65.9%, down 1.09 percentage points WoW. Copper prices hovered at highs this week, and earlier concentrated procurement had front-loaded some subsequent demand. Industry orders in the wire and cable industry remained weak, with operating rates continuing to decline. Next week, wire and cable industry operations will continue to pull back. Most enterprises will have a short Labour Day holiday break, with some choosing to cut production or maintain operations without shutting down. The operating rate is expected to continue falling by 3.12 percentage points WoW to 62.78%.

[SMM Wire and Cable Holiday Survey] As the Labour Day holiday approaches, SMM conducted an in-depth survey on holiday production arrangements among 13 mainstream wire and cable enterprises in China, with a combined sample capacity of 1.67 million mt. The survey showed that enterprises' holiday production plans were divergent. Most enterprises followed their usual practice of maintaining production during the holiday; some enterprises, however, chose to halt production during the holiday due to weakening orders, adjusting their production pace to ease finished product inventory pressure.