This week (January 2 - January 8), the operating rate of enamelled wire machines pulled back 0.66 percentage points MoM to 74.87%. Specifically, copper prices broke through 100,000 yuan/mt, strongly suppressing end-use demand. Combined with the impact of the New Year's Day holiday, industry orders at the start of the week fell short of expectations, becoming the core driver of the decline in the operating rate. However, rigid demand in the market remained ample, with price becoming the key variable affecting the release pace. After copper prices experienced a slight correction on Thursday, industry orders immediately showed restorative growth, particularly with a sustained improvement in order demand from home appliance sector customers, driving a 1.77 percentage point MoM increase in new industry orders for the week. Current market rigid demand is not substantially absent but has entered a temporarily delayed release state due to suppression from high copper prices. If copper prices continue their correction trend next week, end-user purchase willingness will be effectively boosted, industry order volume is expected to achieve significant improvement, and the room for a rebound in the operating rate will further expand. SMM expects the operating rate of the enamelled wire industry to rebound to 78.47% next week.
