Demand Mildly Rebounds, Operating Rates of Brass Billet Producers Recover from Lows [SMM Brass Billet Market Weekly Review]

According to SMM data, the operating rate of brass billet producers was 49.87% this week, up 1.44 percentage points WoW, with the recovery pace slightly lower than market expectations. Inventory structure-wise, raw material inventory at sample enterprises remained at 4 days, while finished product inventories stood at 4.66 days. Enterprises continued to reduce inventories, indicating cautious market sentiment.

Looking ahead, order performance diverged among enterprises: large enterprises reported a significant improvement in orders compared to the previous period, while small and medium-sized enterprises generally indicated stable orders in sectors such as bathroom hardware and new energy, with no significant new additions, though overall conditions improved compared to October. Based on current order intake, SMM expects the operating rate of the brass billet industry to rebound by a further 1.6 percentage points to 51.47% next week. The industry's recovery trend continues, but the overall strength remains constrained by the mild rebound in end-use demand.