Rising Copper Prices Weigh on Wire and Cable Industry

Copper prices surged rapidly during the week of July 31 to August 7, causing downstream raw material procurement costs to increase. As a result, the SMM copper wire and cable enterprise operating rate dropped to 65.94%, down 1.24 percentage points from last week and 1.4 percentage points from the same period last year.

The power grid sector maintained steady ordering, while new energy supporting demand remained resilient. However, construction and other downstream industries experienced weak demand. Wire and cable enterprises became more cautious in procurement, restocking only on rigid demand, resulting in a 3.32% drop in raw material inventory from the previous week.

Finished product inventory rose by 2.1% during this period. Looking ahead to next week (August 7-13), copper prices are expected to continue rising due to the traditional consumption off-season and weak order performance across sectors. As a result, SMM predicts that the operating rate will decline further.

The end of last week saw another rise in copper prices, which may exacerbate the situation. With overall order performance remaining weak, the industry is expected to face ongoing challenges.