SHANGHAI, Jul. 29 (SMM) --

Supply:

Supply of silicon metal reduced in July due to frequent electricity restriction, but overall supply was still in surplus. Many silicon metal producers halted production in Hunan and Guizhou province, so downstream purchasers placed order with silicon metal producers in Yunnan province. In this context, orders even placed till early August at silicon metal producers in Yunnan province.

Demand:

Demand from downstream aluminum alloy producers was stable, and did not increase significantly, while overseas demand remained sluggish. In general, overall demand was lackluster.

In this context, prices of low grade silicon metal increased, with #553 silicon metal price up by RMB 150/mt. If downstream demand does not improve, such price increase will be short-lived. SMM expects, silicon metal advance slightly and may largely stay stable due to electricity restriction and positive expectation. 

Forecast:

SMM expects that mainstream traded prices at Huangpu port will be around RMB 12,700/mt for #553 silicon metal, RMB 13,600/mt for #441 silicon metal, RMB 14,700/mt for #3303 silicon metal and RMB 16,000/mt for #2202 silicon metal in the following week.