Copper prices break through the 110,000 mark, disturbing market procurement pace [SMM Enamelled Wire Market Weekly Review]

      This week (1.23-1.29), the enamelled wire industry's operating rate rebounded as expected, up 1.06 percentage points MoM to 83.33%. Industry orders were stable at the beginning of the week, with downstream customers mainly purchasing as needed. On Thursday, copper prices surged sharply. The average SMM #1 copper cathode price reached 104,185 yuan/mt, while futures prices broke through 110,000 yuan/mt. With spot prices significantly lower than futures prices, downstream customers who settle based on the daily average SMM #1 copper cathode price and the previous month's average price placed orders intensively. This pushed the industry's overall new orders up by 1.63 percentage points instead of falling, effectively boosting the operating rate to continue rising. However, affected by the wild swings in copper prices, some enterprises suspended the order-taking mode based on the daily average price, and new orders for these companies saw a significant pullback. In addition, home appliance companies placed orders relatively well recently. Some enamelled wire companies have already fully utilized their home appliance-related capacity, and this production pace is expected to continue until the Chinese New Year. Inventory side, downstream cargo pick-up pace accelerated simultaneously this week. Finished product inventories in the enamelled wire industry continued to decline to 8.05 days, remaining at a relatively low level. Overall, the rapid surge in copper prices disrupted the market's original procurement pace. Next week, as the price center of copper moves higher, the industry's new orders will be significantly impacted. Moreover, approaching the year-end, against the backdrop of high copper prices, some motor manufacturers already plan to start their holiday early on February 1. Purchasing in the market next week is expected to be mainly for rigid demand, and the overall operating rate of the enamelled wire industry is likely to pull back.