Copper Billet Producers' Operating Rates Expected to Decline Further Amid Market Sluggishness

Published: Jun 6, 2025 16:33

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SMM expects the operating rate of copper billet producers to further decline to 47.11% in June, down 3.51 percentage points MoM. As the traditional off-season deepens, market demand is expected to continue to shrink, with enterprises generally holding a pessimistic outlook for orders in June. In particular, order growth in traditional application areas is sluggish, and the phenomenon of "cut-throat competition" in the industry is intensifying. Some enterprises are resorting to price cuts and sales promotions to stimulate orders, but the effect is limited, with finished product inventories remaining at a high level.

In addition, the current high copper prices are further suppressing downstream procurement demand. Against the backdrop of high raw material costs and tight supply, enterprises are adopting a more cautious inventory strategy, mainly operating with low inventory levels. SMM analysis suggests that enterprises' raw material inventories may continue to decline in June, while there is unlikely to be a significant improvement in finished product inventories. The industry will continue to face significant pressure in the short term.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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