Solar cell prices stabilized last week, with sluggish trading

Last week, the operating rate of cell makers stabilized. Shipments improved from a week ago, but there were few incremental orders. Some cell makers intended to raise prices, mainly affected by upstream sentiment. However, given the current supply and demand, cells inventories are still growing, making it difficult for price increases to be passed downstream. Overall market sentiment remains pessimistic. For 182 series, prices of P type and N type were at the same price. For 210 series, N type and P type has a price spread of 2-3 cents/W, and both PERC210 and Topcon210 are experiencing weak demand. The price spread between N-type 182 and 210 is expected to continue narrowing. Regarding new capacity, last week saw the production ramp-up of PERC solar cell capacity by some cell makers, and another manufacturer joined the 210RN production, with volume expected in July. The 210 and 210RN series cells are clearly in oversupply.