China's Petroleum Coke Market Shows Divergence; Low-Sulphur Prices Rise, Mid- to High-Sulphur Under Pressure

[SMM Aluminum Express] On July 18, the Chenfeng Carbon Green and Energy-Saving Integrated Project of Qiya Xinjiang Group achieved another critical construction breakthrough as its core baking workshop successfully completed equipment installation and officially entered the full-line interlocking commissioning phase. This milestone, following the trial production at the assembly workshop on June 15, means that the project’s entire production process has been fully integrated, bringing it one step closer to formal commissioning. The project is a core supporting initiative for Qiya Xinjiang Group to complete the “coal – electricity – aluminum – carbon” integrated industry chain. Located in the Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone in Changji, Xinjiang, it is planned to produce 200kt of prebaked anodes annually, aiming to supply high-quality prebaked anodes for the group’s internal aluminum production, thereby ensuring self-sufficiency and reducing dependence on external procurement and logistics costs.

[SMM Aluminum Flash] On July 23, SHFE aluminum futures warrants registered at 362,106 mt, down 3,490 mt from the previous trading day; over the past week, SHFE aluminum futures warrants have cumulatively fallen by 19,127 mt, a decrease of 5.02%; over the past month, SHFE aluminum futures warrants have cumulatively fallen by 115,128 mt, a decrease of 24.12%.

[SMM Aluminum Bulletin] This week, prices of aluminum fluoride raw materials diverged, while overall production costs stayed high. The upstream 97% fluorite wet powder market consolidated on a strong note, with mainstream delivered prices at 3,150-3,500 yuan/mt and persistent regional price spreads. The widening domestic raw material supply gap provided strong support for fluorite prices. Meanwhile, purchasing interest from downstream hydrofluoric acid enterprises recovered slightly, and just-in-need stockpiling increased, with favorable supply-demand developments reinforcing fluorite’s upward trend.