[Weak Demand During Off-Season Drags Down Industry Performance, Operating Rates of Brass Billet Producers Continue to Decline]: According to data from SMM, the operating rate of brass billet producers fell to 52.53% this week, down 2.5 percentage points WoW, highlighting the characteristics of the off-season. From the demand side, orders in the refrigeration sector have continued to weaken, and the new energy sector (especially orders related to solar energy) has seen a significant contraction. Coupled with the fact that downstream stocking demand before the Dragon Boat Festival fell short of expectations, enterprises are generally facing a shortage of orders. Currently, the industry is mostly operating with low inventory levels. The days of raw material inventories decreased by 0.6 days WoW to 4.7 days, and the days of finished product inventories decreased by 1.11 days WoW to 6.07 days, reflecting enterprises' cautious mindset amidst copper prices fluctuating at highs. Looking ahead to next week, given that end-use demand is unlikely to improve substantially, it is expected that the operating rate will continue its downward trend, declining by another 0.83 percentage points WoW to 51.69%, and the industry will remain under pressure in the short term.