Limited Order Sustainability During the Week, Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rate Declines [SMM Wire and Cable Market Weekly Review]

This week (October 30-November 5), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 72.51%, down 0.85 percentage points WoW. Production load edged down this week, with production mainly relying on previously scheduled orders on hand. Although copper prices declined somewhat, high spot premiums suppressed orders. In terms of inventory, with premiums fluctuating at highs, raw material costs rose, prompting enterprises to proactively scale back raw material procurement, and raw material inventories fell 0.07 days WoW. For finished product inventories, the pace of downstream cargo pick-up was moderate, driving finished product inventories up 0.16 days WoW. Looking ahead to next week (November 6-November 12), the sustainability of new orders remains poor, and cost pressure continues to weigh. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises to fall 1.54 percentage points WoW to 70.97% next week.