Copper Industry Sees Modest Recovery Amid Ongoing Pressure
The copper billet industry experienced a decline in August due to high prices and an off-season for consumption. According to SMM data, the comprehensive operating rate of sampled brass billet enterprises stood at 42.63%, down 1.63 percentage points from July and 1.24 percentage points year-over-year.
The high copper prices had a significant impact on the market, making it difficult for end-users to place orders. As a result, enterprise production was under pressure, with some enterprises passively adjusting their schedules and operating performance weakening further.
On the raw material side, domestic and imported brass prices remained high, pushing up downstream procurement costs and squeezing processing enterprises' profit margins. This led to suppressed production enthusiasm among sampled enterprises.
Looking ahead to September, SMM expects a modest recovery in the industry's operating rate, with a 0.59 percentage point increase from August to 43.22%. However, this will still be down 1.88 percentage points year-over-year due to the lack of strong demand drivers.