Operating Rates of Copper Cathode Rods Declined as Expected at the End of the Year of the Snake, with Relatively Few Orders Pending After the Holiday [SMM Copper Cathode Rod Weekly Review]

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       Copper Cathode Rod: The weekly operating rate of major domestic copper cathode rod enterprises (1.17-1.23) declined as expected to 55.17%, down 15.29 percentage points MoM, 0.12 percentage points higher than the forecast. Calculated based on the Chinese New Year period, the operating rate decreased by 6.85 percentage points YoY compared to the week before the holiday last year. With the Chinese New Year approaching next week, market consumption weakened as expected, with both order volumes and shipments decreasing. Most enterprises began to gradually enter the maintenance and production suspension cycle as planned, leading to the anticipated decline in the operating rate. From the inventory perspective, due to stocking demand for the Chinese New Year, finished product inventories at major domestic copper cathode rod plants increased by 25.04% MoM, reaching 85,400 mt. As most enterprises are expected to resume operations around the eighth day of the lunar calendar, raw material stocking demand was relatively low, with raw material inventories at copper cathode rod plants decreasing by 7.15% MoM to 34,550 mt. Looking ahead, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, the weekly operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises is expected to further decline to 19.61% during the week of 1.24-1.30, down 35.56 percentage points MoM and 12.27 percentage points YoY. Meanwhile, most copper cathode rod enterprises remain cautious about post-holiday consumption, with limited orders on hand. If copper prices experience a significant correction after the holiday, it may stimulate some replenishment-driven consumption.