China Brass Billet Industry Operating Rate Declines Amid Weak Demand

The brass billet industry in China is experiencing weak end-use demand recovery and lower operating rates. According to SMM data, the industry's operating rate decreased to 48.55% last week (Aug 21-27), down 0.19 percentage points from the previous month and 0.96 percentage points from the same period last year.

The off-season effect continues to impact demand, with downstream industries such as home appliances, sanitary ware, and hardware showing limited restocking willingness. The market is dominated by rigid-demand orders, and new orders are scarce. Although copper price fluctuations have created some trading opportunities, they have not led to large-scale downstream purchases.

Raw material prices remain high, squeezing processing margins at brass billet enterprises. Secondary brass supply remains tight due to limited incremental supply from domestic scrap brass circulation and imports. Enterprises' restocking willingness is weak, with most adopting a purchase-as-needed approach. The industry's inventory levels are low, constraining capacity release at small and mid-sized plants.

SMM expects the industry's operating rate to edge down to 48.42% this week (Aug 28-Sep 3), due to persistent tightness in recycled brass raw materials and high costs. The off-season pattern has not yet reversed, and end-use demand is unlikely to improve significantly. Downstream users will remain cautious amid consolidating copper prices.