This week, the brass billet industry operated steadily overall, with the operating rate edging up. According to SMM data, as of this week, the operating rate of brass billet enterprises was 47.01%, up 0.19 percentage points WoW. In terms of inventory, the raw material inventory of sample enterprises remained at 4.21 days, while finished product inventories stood at 5.71 days. Affected by copper prices fluctuating at highs, enterprises generally adopted cautious stockpiling strategies, and overall inventory levels continued to stay low.
Next week, the industry is expected to face increased pressure. On one hand, copper prices fluctuating at highs suppressed end-user purchase willingness, with enterprises generally reporting limited new orders; on the other hand, persistently high raw material costs further squeezed corporate profit margins, leading to weak stockpiling willingness, with most enterprises focusing on digesting their own inventories. Although late October is traditionally a period of demand release for the refrigeration industry (such as valve products), the actual increase has been limited so far, while traditional consumption areas like plumbing and sanitary ware still show no clear signs of recovery.
Overall, under the dual pressures of high costs and weak demand, the operating rate of the brass billet industry is expected to drop 0.26 percentage points to 46.76% next week. In the short term, if copper prices fail to see a significant correction, the industry's operating rate will remain under pressure, with little chance of a notable rebound.
