The silicon metal market in October 2022

The Review of Silicon Metal Market

Metallurgical grade silicon market

After the National Day holiday, a large factory in the north had a live broadcast discount for the anniversary first, and then increased the price, which stimulated the polysilicon factory to place orders. And the price of low-grade oxygen showed a certain increase. The silicon factories in South of China are eager to raise the price since the increased electricity prices and energy efficiency management, but traders are more cautious during high-level periods and are not very motivated to stock up. Moreover, some silicone manufacturers have already stopped production and reduced production due to unbearable losses. The demand in the aluminum market is tepid. The downstream consumption support is insufficient. At the end of October, there was a slight price concession in the factories without oxygen supply, and the price of metal silicon with oxygen supply did not change significantly. Although the price of silicon metal is at a certain high level, the market transaction activity is not high.

Chemical grade silicon market

This month, the increase of chemical grade is relatively small.It is difficult for organic silicon factories to accept high prices. Because the price gap between low-grade and medium-high grades is too small, many metal silicon powder mills have also begun to switch grades to purchase.

The Exporting Market of Silicon Metal

In September, the total export volume of silicon metal products was 49,448 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 22,450 tons, a decrease of 31.22%, and a month-on-month decrease of 6,810 tons, a decrease of 12.10%. From January to September, the total export volume was 514,897 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 90,416 tons or 14.94%. In October, the export market of silicon metal remained deserted, and some foreign aluminum plants had delayed orders. If foreigners had inquiries, they continued to lower prices according to the cost of domestic silicon metal. There was a certain price difference between domestic and foreign transaction prices. As the international economic situation has not improved, it is difficult for demand to improve in the short term.

The Operation and Capacity

The Market Prediction For November

In terms of cost: the increase in the cost of metal silicon in October is mainly due to the transportation cost, the price of cleaned coal, and the price of oil coke. In the later period, electricity prices in Sichuan and Yunnan will be raised, and the price of raw materials will be difficult to loosen, and the cost of silicon factories will increase significantly.

Supply and demand: The supply in October was basically normal, the demand-side silicone market significantly reduced production, and the silicone market is unlikely to improve in the short term. In November, except for the rectification of circuits in the Nujiang area of Yunnan and the suspension of production, and the production instability in Xinjiang due to the epidemic, there was little change in other areas for the time being.

To sum up, buyers and sellers may still be in a stalemate, and there is no obvious positive or negative to break this situation. The market transaction price is chaotic, and the transaction is not a source of supply. The industry’s operating knowledge also expects that the listing of metal silicon futures will bring new opportunities to the market.