Recently, the brass billet industry has been facing the dual test of elevated raw material costs and diverging market demand.

According to SMM data, the composite operating rate of copper bar enterprises in February was 22.78%, down 22.08 percentage points MoM and down 17.64 percentage points YoY.

According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, China's imports of copper scrap and shredded copper scrap reached 183,200 mt in June 2025, down 1.06% MoM and up 8.06% YoY. From the cumulative data of January-June, imports stood at 1.1454 million mt, down 0.5% YoY. (HS code 74040000).

According to SMM, the current supply of secondary copper remains tight. US tariff policies have led to the near disappearance of US sources, while prices from other countries remain high, resulting in severe inverted import prices. Traders in Ningbo reported that despite a nearly 1,000 yuan/mt surge in SHFE copper prices, bare bright copper in Zhejiang still traded at an 800 yuan/mt discount, with traders clearly refusing to budge on prices. For secondary brass, constrained by weak demand, price fluctuations were only 300-500 yuan/mt, making it difficult to follow the futures market rally. Overseas brass prices were 1,000-1,500 yuan/mt higher than domestic prices, resulting in significant import losses, and overall tight supply in Zhejiang.

According to SMM, the current supply of secondary copper remains tight. US tariff policies have led to the near disappearance of US sources, while prices from other countries are high, resulting in severe inverted import margins. Ningbo traders have reported that despite SHFE copper prices surging by nearly 1,000 yuan, bare bright copper in Zhejiang is still trading at a discount of 800 yuan/mt, with traders clearly refusing to budge on prices. For secondary brass, constrained by weak demand, price fluctuations are only 300-500 yuan/mt, making it difficult to follow the futures market rally. Overseas brass prices are 1,000-1,500 yuan/mt higher than domestic prices, resulting in severe import losses, and the overall supply in Zhejiang is tight.