Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rate Falls to 63.71% Amid High Prices and Weak Demand

Published: Sep 11, 2026 21:44 (GMT+8)

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This week (September 4-September 10), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises came in at 63.71%, down 2.93 percentage points WoW and down 3.91 percentage points YoY. During the week, copper prices fluctuated at highs overall, continuing to suppress downstream order releases. On the inventory side, high copper prices weakened wire and cable enterprises' willingness to stockpile raw materials, with days of raw material inventories down 2.93% WoW. Weak end-use demand and insufficient willingness to pick up goods drove days of finished product inventories up 2.63% WoW.

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