Offers of Minor Metals in Europe (2017-12-13）

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Tug-of-war between sellers and buyers persists in the silicone market, with overall new orders subdued ahead of the holiday] This week, China's silicone DMC market saw transactions edge lower, with an average price of 14,500 yuan/mt. During the week, after one monomer producer lowered its DMC offer to 14,500 yuan/mt, other monomer producers kept their existing offers unchanged, showing a strong willingness to hold prices firm ahead of the holiday, but there was virtually no trading at high prices. On the raw material side, 421# silicon metal (for silicone use) in east China remained firm, and methanol prices were firm this week, providing some support for silicone DMC prices. Overall, the silicone market remained locked in a tug-of-war between sellers and buyers this week, with monomer producers showing a strong willingness to hold prices firm ahead of the holiday, while demand was mainly need-based restocking, and actual transactions before the holiday were weak. In the short term, silicone prices will remain in the doldrums, with attention to be paid to the direction of the monomer producers' industry meeting in early October and the pace of downstream restocking after the holiday.

[SMM Magnesium Market Analysis: Prices Rose Before Falling Below the Year's Low, the Real Logic Behind Magnesium Plants' "On-and-Off" Operations] The first and second halves of the month presented contrasting patterns, one hot and one cold, one joyful and one sorrowful, with market sentiment rapidly shifting from euphoria to a freezing point in just thirty days. At the start of the month, coal prices shot up, igniting the market, as cost support combined with speculative capital inflows drove magnesium prices sharply higher, briefly suggesting that a new upward cycle had begun. However, the heavy drag from fundamentals soon emerged, and the rally, lacking support from real demand, proved unsustainable. Magnesium prices then drifted lower, ultimately falling below the year's low, with 9990 primary magnesium ingot prices dipping to 156,500 yuan/mt. The monthly trend rose before falling, creating a stark contrast.