[First Half of the Year Passed, Finished Goods Inventory Awaits Consumption; Operating Rate of Copper Cathode Rod Enterprises Turns Negative YoY] The weekly operating rate (from June 27 to July 3) of major domestic copper cathode rod enterprises unexpectedly declined to 63.74%, down 10.27 percentage points MoM, 9.74 percentage points lower than the expected value, and turning negative YoY with a decline of 4.75 percentage points.

[SMM Analysis: Rapid surge in copper prices triggers panic over hoarding, "frozen circulation" of secondary raw materials leaves copper rod producers "short of materials"] Copper prices struggled to rise, with the price center pulling back at the end of the week. The weekly increase was 660 yuan/mt. The price of bare bright copper in Guangdong ranged from 74,200 to 74,400 yuan/mt, with an increase of 1,000 yuan/mt...

[SMM Analysis: The Crisis of Secondary Copper Rod Worsens: Raw Material Supply Disruption, Policy Pressure, and Deep Profit Losses Lead to Accelerated Decline in Operating Rate] According to SMM's survey data, the operating rate of secondary copper rod plants this week was 24.79%, down 2.52 percentage points WoW and 5.16 percentage points YoY. Meanwhile, the average price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod was 1,549 yuan/mt this week, up 507 yuan/mt MoM. Additionally, the average discount of secondary copper rod against copper futures in Jiangxi was 918 yuan/mt, up 350 yuan/mt MoM...

[SMM spot copper] Looking ahead to next week, copper prices are expected to experience a correction pace, and it is anticipated that Shanghai spot copper premiums will stop falling and stabilize.