SMM data shows that the operating rates of brass billet producers continued to perform weakly this week, declining 0.83% MoM to 51.18%. There was significant divergence among enterprises, with orders for some enterprises continuing to weaken, showing clear off-season characteristics; while orders for a small number of enterprises gradually stabilized, the overall market activity remained flat compared to last week. Meanwhile, amidst weak current market demand, fluctuating brass prices at highs led to chaotic quoting. Enterprises were forced to reduce copper billet prices to boost sales, but with little effect. In terms of inventory data, SMM sample days of raw material inventories increased 0.79 days MoM to 5.26 days, and days of finished product inventories increased 0.37 days MoM to 7.11 days, mainly due to slightly looser raw material supply and a slight accumulation of finished product inventories amid declining demand. Looking ahead to next week, given the continued sluggish downstream demand and intensified wait-and-see sentiment amid fluctuating copper prices at highs, SMM expects the weekly operating rate of brass billet producers to decline further by 0.19% to 50.99%.