Silicon Metal Market Consolidated Sideways, High-End Polysilicon Prices Within the Range Weakened [SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary]

SMM News, March 25:

Silicon coal

prices: Silicon coal prices in some regions were raised slightly, mainly in Gansu, where prices have increased by 20 yuan/mt since last Friday. The average price of silicon blended coal rose to 950 yuan/mt, and the average price of silicon granular coal rose to 1,070 yuan/mt. This round of price increases was mainly driven by rising costs on the cost side. Prices in other regions were temporarily stable, including non-caking silicon coal in Xinjiang at an average of about 855 yuan/mt, caking silicon coal at a price range of about 1,300-1,650 yuan/mt, silicon coal in Inner Mongolia at an average of about 1,260 yuan/mt, and silicon coal in Shaanxi at an average of about 850 yuan/mt.

Supply: Overall supply still mainly followed the produce based on sales model, but overall shipments were average, and new order transactions fell short of expectations.

Demand: As the downstream silicon plants remained in a volatile and sluggish market overall, they were also relatively cautious in procuring raw materials, with purchases mainly made to meet rigid production needs.

Silicon metal

prices: Spot silicon metal prices remained in a stagnant consolidation. Yesterday, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 9,100-9,300 yuan/mt, and #441 silicon was at 9,300-9,500 yuan/mt, flat from the previous day. The quoted price center of some silicon enterprises was slightly lower than that of trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market. Downstream users mainly transacted at lower prices, and market trading sentiment was inactive.

Production:

At the beginning of March, some capacity on the supply side resumed production. In mid-March, the operating rate of silicon metal was largely stable, with only minor fluctuations, and short-term changes in the operating rate were not obvious.

Inventory:

Social inventory: According to SMM statistics, as of March 19, social inventory of silicon metal in major regions totaled 553,000 mt, an increase of 1,000 mt WoW. (Excluding Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and other regions).

Silicone

prices

DMC: Yesterday's transaction price was 13,800-14,300 yuan/mt, flat WoW. Last week, as market prices saw slight concessions, some midstream clients had already entered the market for procurement based on production needs. Entering this week, with raw material prices continuing to rise, DMC costs were supported, and overall transaction prices remained relatively stable WoW.

D4: Yesterday's quoted price was 14,100-15,000 yuan/mt, flat WoW.

107 silicone rubber: Yesterday's quoted price was 14,200-15,100 yuan/mt, flat WoW.

Raw rubber: Yesterday's quoted price was 14,900-15,300 yuan/mt, flat WoW.

Silicone oil: Yesterday's quoted price was 15,500-16,100 yuan/mt, flat WoW.

Production:

The operating load of monomer enterprises in China remained relatively low. Subsequently, some monomer enterprises will begin periodic maintenance, and overall supply is expected to decline slightly accordingly.

Inventory:

From the weekly situation, some upstream enterprises were under pressure in taking new orders, and inventory levels were rising.

Polysilicon

Price:

N-type recharging polysilicon was quoted at 38-47 yuan/kg. Polysilicon prices continued to decline recently, mainly affected by market sentiment and inventory clearance at some top-tier enterprises. At present, low-priced polysilicon has fallen below the cost line of some manufacturers, and the willingness to hold quotes firm has strengthened somewhat. The upstream market was also still watching wafer price movements.

Production

In March, some small enterprises currently planned to start operations, coupled with an increase in calendar days, so polysilicon production may increase to some extent. In April, some production bases are also expected to raise output.

Inventory:

Polysilicon inventory declined slightly recently. Some top-tier polysilicon plants have had toll processing plans over the past two months, consuming part of their polysilicon inventory.

Wafer

Price

Market prices for 18X wafers were 0.98-1.00 yuan/piece, 210RN wafers 1.05-1.13 yuan/piece, and 210N wafers 1.25-1.33 yuan/piece. At present, wafer prices across the range were still on a downward track, but the extent had narrowed significantly, awaiting confirmation of the final level of raw material costs.

Production

Wafer production in March increased by about 10.71, mainly due to the increase in calendar days. Recently, top-tier enterprises all showed signs of cutting production, and wafer planned production is expected to be reduced next month. Toll processing orders in the market increased somewhat and showed a more concentrated trend.

Inventory

Wafer enterprise inventory began to decline. After cell enterprises finalized their March production schedule, demand was stronger than supply, causing the wafer segment to shift toward destocking.

High-Purity Quartz Sand

Price

Currently, in China, prices for inner-layer sand were 50,000-53,000 yuan/mt, middle-layer sand 20,000-25,000 yuan/mt, outer-layer sand 16,000-18,000 yuan/mt, and imported high-purity quartz sand 65,000-68,000 yuan/mt. Prices for 33-inch quartz crucibles were 6,000-6,300 yuan/piece, and 36-inch quartz crucibles were 7,000-7,300 yuan/piece. Prices for imported sand and 36-inch crucibles were adjusted.

Production

In March, quartz sand enterprises were expected to maintain a slight increase in planned production. High-purity quartz sand enterprises in China formulated production plans in line with wafer demand, while an outside-China high-purity quartz sand enterprise postponed its average production plan.

Inventory

In Q1 2026, crucible enterprises made reasonable purchases based on wafer planned production, and quartz sand inventory levels continued to increase.