SHANGHAI, Mar. 8 (SMM) --

Supply:

Total inventories were around 22,000-23,000 at Huangpu port, including 7,000 mt at Hongkai warehouse,5,000 mt at Yuehua warehouse,7,000 mt at Wanxiong warehouse and 3,000-4,000 mt at Matou warehouse. Total inventories in two warehouses in Yunnan province were around 30,000 mt. As market condition is poor, most producers were reluctant to store goods at ports, which was major reason behind sharply decline in inventories at ports.

Demand:

As overseas purchasers expected prices to fall, their inquiries were below purchase costs of traders, which made traders reluctant to move goods and resulted in stagnant transactions. Domestic purchases also adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Forecast:

Some producers in Yunnan and Sichuan province will conduct unit maintenance for 15-20 days, and may not resume production until early or middle April. As consumption shows no signs of recovery, SMM expects that silicon metal prices will fall by RMB 50-150/mt in the following week.