Silicon Metal Prices Began to Stabilise Last Week, Downstream Purchases Picked up

SHANGHAI, Apr 18 (SMM) –Last week, prices of metallurgical-grade silicon began to stabilise following continuous decline, while those of chemical-grade silicon fell slightly. Prices of oxygen-free #553 silicon in east China fell 100 yuan/mt on a weekly basis to 19,100-19,300 yuan/mt, while those of #553 silicon with oxygen dropped 150 yuan/mt to 20,200-20,400 yuan/mt. The metallurgical-grade silicon market began to stabilise. The profits of silicon plants shrank following price declines, and some plants who had high costs hardly had any profit. As such, silicon plants refused to cut prices further. Market sentiment improved after silicon prices stabilised and downstream purchased picked up based on rigid demand.  Downstream silicone enterprises basically completed their bids, and the bid price of 421# silicon fell to around 22,500 yuan/mt. The domestic pandemic has not been effectively controlled. The downstream sectors, especially the aluminum alloy industry, is still being hit by the pandemic, preventing demand from recovering rapidly. Traders believe that the short term silicon prices may stabilise, but are unwilling to stock up as they see little upside room for silicon prices. Traders will make purchased based on their orders. Therefore, silicon prices may remain largely stable this week.