[SMM Brass Bar Flash News] As of the week ending March 27, the weekly CIF China quotation for US brass scrap had risen to $7,750/mt. Recycled brass raw materials prices continued to stay high, and overall spot availability in the market remained tight. High raw material costs made brass billet enterprises more cautious in their procurement strategies, with stockpiling willingness weakening significantly.

[SMM Brass Bar Flash News] Recently, the brass bar industry has been facing the dual challenge of persistently high raw material costs and diverging market demand. According to SMM, although the industry's overall operating rate has rebounded slightly amid the continued rise in prices of recycled brass raw materials, enterprises' willingness to stockpile has declined markedly, and wait-and-see sentiment in the market remains strong.

This week (3.20-3.26), the operating rate of China’s brass billet industry came in at 54.39%, up a mild 0.26 percentage points MoM , with the industry as a whole maintaining a mild trend. Downstream orders showed divergence: demand in the refrigeration valve fittings segment remained steady and improved, becoming the core driver supporting enterprises’ production schedules, while orders in traditional general-use segments such as hardware and plumbing were relatively stable, with enterprises mainly executing earlier contracts and taking a relatively cautious pace toward new orders. Affected by elevated prices for recycled brass raw materials and relatively tight spot circulation in the market, sample enterprises showed lower willingness to stockpile raw materials this week, and days of raw material inventories edged down to 4.35 days. Finished product inventories turnover remained stable at 5.39 days, and overall industry inventory pressure was limited; Looking ahead to next week (3.27-4.2), fluctuations in copper prices are still expected to disturb downstream purchasing sentiment. Combined with the constraints of tight supply and elevated costs for recycled brass raw materials, this is expected to exert some restraint on enterprises’ operating loads. However, orders on hand will still provide support, leaving limited room for the operating rate to decline. SMM expects the operating rate of the brass billet industry next week to edge down 0.07 percentage points MoM to 54.32% , and the industry will continue to operate under a pattern driven by rigid demand and constrained by raw materials.

[SMM Brass Bar Flash News] Affected by tight recycled brass raw materials supply, brass billet enterprises' raw material inventory remained at a medium level of 4.4 days; finished product inventories edged up to 5.25 days due to a slowdown in downstream cargo pick-up.

[ SMM Brass Billet Express ] Looking ahead to February, the brass billet industry is expected to face multiple pressures. Supply side, overseas offers are limited before the Chinese New Year, and supply of recycled brass raw materials remains tight. Demand side, orders in traditional sectors show no improvement, with enterprises mainly focusing on delivering existing orders and new orders being limited. Meanwhile, high and fluctuating copper prices, along with the Spring Festival holiday, will further dampen stockpiling willingness and shorten effective production time. The operating rate in February is projected to decline further.

According to copper bar enterprises and traders, customs inspections have been stricter recently, and the quality of recycled brass raw materials in Europe is lower than that in the Americas, resulting in a large number of goods being returned from Europe. Since the recycled brass raw materials in the Americas are already in short supply, and the supply in Europe has declined, the prices of recycled brass raw materials in the Americas remain firm.