Operating Rates in the Doldrums This Week, Expected to Decline Further Next Week [SMM Brass Billet Market Weekly Review]

This week (4.24-4.30), the operating rate of the brass billet industry was 52.56%, down 0.35 percentage points WoW and 9.94 percentage points YoY. Copper prices continued to fluctuate at highs, and enterprise production mainly relied on previous orders on hand, while new orders continued to weaken. Recycled brass raw materials supply remained tight, raw material prices were severely inverted, enterprises faced prominent cost pressure, and raw material inventories pulled back slightly to 4.11 days. Meanwhile, the industry gradually entered the traditional off-season, downstream cargo pick-up pace slowed down, and finished product inventories of sample enterprises increased slightly to 5.51 days. Looking ahead to next week (5.1-5.7), affected by factors such as some enterprises suspending production for the Labour Day holiday, weak new orders, and raw material prices staying high, SMM expects the industry operating rate to further decline 7.57 percentage points to 44.99%.