Polysilicon Prices Rise, Wafer Production Schedule Slightly Declines [SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Conference Summary]

SMM Feb. 11:

Silicon coal

prices: Silicon coal prices held steady WoW, with Shaanxi silicon coal prices at around 820-900 yuan/mt, non-caking silicon coal in Xinjiang averaging about 855 yuan/mt, caking silicon coal ranging around 1,300-1,650 yuan/mt, Inner Mongolia silicon coal averaging about 1,260 yuan/mt, Gansu silicon mixed coal averaging about 930 yuan/mt, and granular coal averaging about 1,050 yuan/mt.

Supply: Despite some washing plants gradually entering holiday breaks, supply still showed some contraction.

Demand: With transportation capacity increasingly tight, silicon coal shipments became more difficult, leading to sluggish market transactions overall.

Silicon metal

prices: Yesterday, SMM oxygen-blown #553 silicon in east China was at 9,200-9,400 yuan/mt, and #441 silicon at 9,300-9,600 yuan/mt, down slightly WoW. Spot procurement downstream was sluggish as the Chinese New Year approached. Futures prices fluctuated significantly, remaining weak in recent days; yesterday, the most-traded silicon metal futures contract fell below 8,400 yuan/mt, with some traders executing buy orders on weak futures. The Chinese New Year holiday had a limited impact on market transactions.

Production:

China's silicon metal output in January was 375,500 mt, down 5.5% MoM but up 23.5% YoY. Major plants in Xinjiang saw significant reductions in February, coupled with further impacts from output cuts in Inner Mongolia and Sichuan in January, and fewer production days, suggesting a substantial MoM decline in silicon metal output for February.

Inventory:

Social inventory: SMM statistics showed silicon metal social inventory in major regions totaled 562,000 mt on Feb. 5, up 8,000 mt WoW (excluding Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, etc.).

Silicone

prices

DMC: Transaction prices yesterday were 13,800-14,000 yuan/mt, steady WoW. As the Chinese New Year holiday neared, transportation capacity tightened, and midstream and downstream clients gradually entered holidays, the market moved toward a lull.

D4: Quotes yesterday were 13,900-15,000 yuan/mt, steady WoW.

107 silicone rubber: Quotes yesterday were 14,200-14,800 yuan/mt, steady WoW.

Raw rubber: Quotes yesterday were 14,600-15,000 yuan/mt, steady WoW.

Silicone oil: Quotes yesterday were 15,200-15,800 yuan/mt, steady WoW.

Production:

As overall market transactions slowed, upstream monomer enterprises began adjusting production pace, with some starting to reduce loads, leading to a slight contraction in supply.

Inventory:

Currently, monomer enterprises mainly focus on producing pre-sold orders, and overall operating rates remain at low levels, resulting in relatively stable overall inventory WoW.

Polysilicon

Price:

Polysilicon N-type recharging polysilicon is quoted at 48.5-58.8 yuan/kg, granular polysilicon is quoted at 49-51 yuan/kg, and the polysilicon price index is 52.60 yuan/kg. Polysilicon prices rose slightly, mainly due to some manufacturers slightly raising their psychological expected prices affected by cost delineation, while mainstream prices remained stable. Approaching the Chinese New Year, market transactions slowed down, and the overall atmosphere showed no significant changes.

Production:

Domestic polysilicon production in February is expected to decline significantly, mainly reflected in production cuts or shutdowns at top-tier enterprises. This week's overall operating rate met expectations.

Inventory:

Polysilicon inventory continued to increase this week. The current market is relatively chaotic, and transaction frequency decreased as the Chinese New Year approached, leading to a slight rise in inventory.

Wafer

Price

Market prices for 18X wafers were 1.15-1.20 yuan/piece, for 210RN wafers were 1.25-1.30 yuan/piece, and for 210N wafers were 1.45-1.50 yuan/piece. Wafer prices fell again this week, due to a downward shift in the center of raw material costs and weakening cell demand. It is expected that low wafer prices still face downward risks, but the overall room for decline is relatively small.

Production

Wafer production schedules in February decreased by about 3%. According to surveys, most wafer enterprises have gradually stopped furnaces, and additionally, individual enterprises have plans to increase production, while market toll processing orders maintained previous levels.

Inventory

Wafer enterprise inventory continued to increase. After the pullback in silver prices, solar cell plants have no immediate plans to increase production. Total wafer inventory is now above reasonable levels.

High-Purity Quartz Sand

Price

Current domestic prices for inner layer sand are 55,000-60,000 yuan/mt, for middle layer sand are 20,000-30,000 yuan/mt, and for outer layer sand are 15,000-20,000 yuan/mt. Imported high-purity quartz sand is priced at 74,000-76,000 yuan/mt. The price for 33-inch quartz crucibles is 6,000-6,200 yuan/piece, and for 36-inch quartz crucibles is 7,000-7,400 yuan/piece. Overall prices remained stable recently.

Production

Quartz sand enterprise production schedules in February are expected to maintain a slight decrease. Domestic high-purity quartz sand enterprises are making production cuts to match wafer demand when formulating production plans.

Inventory

At the beginning of 2026, crucible enterprises made reasonable purchases based on wafer production schedules, and quartz sand inventory levels continued to increase.