Copper Price Volatility Disrupts Order Releases, Cable Operating Rates Decline Again [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review]

Published: Aug 7, 2026 14:37

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This week (Jul 31 - Aug 7), the SMM copper wire and cable enterprise operating rate registered 65.94%, down 1.24 percentage points WoW and down 1.4 percentage points YoY. During the week, copper prices shot up rapidly, driving up downstream raw material procurement costs, and market new orders contracted somewhat. End-use demand side, the power grid sector maintained steady ordering, new energy supporting demand remained resilient, while construction and other downstream industries stayed generally weak. Inventory side, affected by the rise in copper prices, wire and cable enterprises became more cautious in procurement, mostly restocking on rigid demand only, with raw material inventory down 3.32% WoW; downstream end-user cargo pick-up pace slowed, and finished product inventory rose 2.1% WoW. Looking ahead to next week, copper prices rose again at the end of the week, compounded by the traditional consumption off-season, and overall order performance across sectors remained weak, which will continue to weigh on the operating rate. SMM expects that next week (Aug 7 - Aug 13), the copper wire and cable operating rate will decline by 1.28 percentage points WoW to 62.38%, down 6.92 percentage points YoY.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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