Significant Drop in Copper Prices Triggers Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment, Wire and Cable Enterprises' Operating Rate Slightly Increases

This week (11.8-11.14), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 89.37%, up 2.07 percentage points WoW, and 3.28 percentage points higher than the expected operating rate. This week, copper prices fell sharply, but the boost to the operating rate of wire and cable enterprises was limited. The main reason is that most downstream customers remain bearish on the market outlook and prefer to wait amid the continuous decline in copper prices. Therefore, although copper prices fell continuously this week, the increase in new orders for most wire and cable enterprises was not significant. By industry, power grid orders were relatively strong, and there was growth in photovoltaic and wind power projects, but orders for construction and real estate projects and machinery equipment were not significantly increased. Additionally, during the copper price decline this week, the raw material inventory of wire and cable sample enterprises increased significantly, with many enterprises procuring raw materials based on their own situations, and finished product inventory slightly increased, indicating that the speed of customer delivery has not accelerated after the copper price drop. Currently, customers are sensitive to copper prices, and since most customers expect copper prices to remain low next week, the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises is expected to increase by 1.95 percentage points to 91.31% next week.