Silicon metal prices drop sharply

 Keywords: silicon metal weekly review, silicon metal prices drop, the market transaction moves slow

This week, silicon metal prices drop sharply, which leads more buyers to watch the market trend. As the buyers are cautious with the purchases, they are pushing down the prices from the suppliers. On the other hand, silicon metal factories in China have to take the market trend into consideration even though they have already prepared for the production for a long time.

Price:

This week, the price of metallurgical grade silicon metal continues the decreasing trend. At present, the price of silicon metal 553(without oxygen) ranges at 10200-10300 RMB/MT at port. High grade silicon metal prices also decreased in the weak market. The price of 2202 grade in Fujian is about 12600 RMB/MT (ex-works). The prices of chemical silicon metal 421 and 411 also drop a little due to the inactive silicone market. The following chart show more price details:

Unit: RMB/MT

Operation:

According to Ferroalloynet, there are totally 64 furnaces in the silicon metal factories of Northeast China with only 13 of the furnaces in normal operation. The operating rate is about 20.3%. The monthly output is expected to be 7960 tons. Recently the falling prices of low grade silicon metal also influenced the prices of chemical silicon metal. The market transaction of chemical silicon metal is getting slow with the weak prices. Although the operation is stable, the falling prices may stop some of the factories from production considering the cost. silicon metal factories in Guizhou show slight interest for production. The silicon metal operation in Guizhou increases a little in May due to the adjustment of the electricity price. However, most factories think that the future market of silicon metal is going to drop. The operation in next month is expected to hold almost stable.

Transaction: 

This week, the market transaction moves slow due to the delay of purchases and the falling market prices. The buyers are not willing to buy a falling market, so most of them are waiting for the lower offers.

Export:  

Export market is sluggish this week. The exporters in China find it hard to conclude any deal because the market prices drops like every day. Most consumers tend to watch the market. They will not make the purchase unless they can bear the risk of decreasing prices. The following chart shows more details of export price:

Unit: USD/MT

Downstream Market: 

This week, the price for aluminum ingots decreases further. And there are manufactories of aluminum that cut down the output or even stop the production in the slow market, so fewer traders are buying silicon metal for the manufactures. So far, the price for aluminum ingots in eastern China is about 12130-12170 RMB/MT. The price of silicone has increased by 4500 RMB/MT this week.

Future Market:  

The operation of silicon metal is expected to increase in next week. However, the market prices will continue the weak trend for a while.