Shandong Spot Copper Market

[SMM Brass Billet News Flash] Demand side, the traditional off-season effect continued to ferment, and the weak end-use demand from downstream brass billet sectors showed no improvement. Order follow-up in core downstream sectors such as home appliances, refrigeration, and bathroom hardware remained sluggish, with strong wait-and-see sentiment among end-users and subdued purchase willingness.

[SMM Brass Billet News] Supply side, the recycled brass raw materials market presented a pattern of "tight supply and high prices," which significantly constrained production. On one hand, the tight supply of imported secondary brass remained unresolved, and domestic waste brass recycling volume was limited, with market circulating resources remaining persistently tight; on the other hand, raw material prices fluctuated at highs, squeezing profit margins of copper billet enterprises. Most enterprises saw their raw material inventory continuously declining to relatively low levels, and some small and medium-sized enterprises were forced to slow down their production pace due to difficulties in raw material procurement.

[SMM Brass Billet News Flash] This week (5.15-5.21), the brass billet industry remained in the doldrums, with an operating rate of 52.14%, down 0.2 percentage points WoW. The market has entered the traditional consumption off-season, compounded by tight raw material supply, wild swings in copper prices, and sluggish end-use demand, putting sustained pressure on enterprises' production and operations.