Kezhou Xinyehua Mei's Titanium Magnetite Project Expansion Approved, Boosting Vanadium-Titanium Supply Capacity

[Spot silicon metal prices edge higher in a narrow range before stabilizing]: In early August, the supply contraction from production cuts at silicon enterprises on the supply side and bullish price drivers from PV policy had already been realized in stages. Silicon metal futures shifted to narrow-range consolidation after prices rose. In August, fundamentals improved, with strong support below prices limiting downside room. On the upside, without new positive catalysts, upward momentum is insufficient to deliver a trending rally, and the tug-of-war between longs and shorts may shift prices to consolidation.

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Downstream Rigid Demand Orders Follow Through, Silicone Product Prices Continue to Show Strength] This week, China’s silicone DMC price center moved up, with quotations at 13,000-13,500 yuan/mt. Expectations of joint industry production cuts, combined with follow-through in downstream rigid demand orders, pushed silicone monomer enterprises to raise quotations, and low-priced supply in the market decreased. Supply side, the 50% joint production cut plan set at the August industry meeting continued to advance, but implementation intensity varied among enterprises, and the operating rate in early August remained above 60%. In terms of order taking by monomer enterprises, they currently have sufficient pre-sale orders and no sales pressure, with a few enterprises’ pre-sale orders already booked through early September; industry pre-sale orders vary from late August to early September. Monomer enterprises’ siloxane inventories are at low levels, and enterprises hold a mostly bullish sentiment. Overall, China’s short-term DMC price center is expected to gradually move up from 13,000 yuan/mt to around 13,500 yuan/mt.

[Aluminum Scrap and Secondary Aluminum Weekly Review: High Raw Material Support and Off-Season Inventory Buildup Coexist; Secondary Aluminum Price Range Under Pressure] This week, China's aluminum scrap market prices moved sideways and consolidated, tracking primary aluminum trends. The price difference between A00 aluminum and aluminum scrap widened again as aluminum scrap struggled to catch up. On August 13, SMM A00 spot aluminum prices closed at 24,120 yuan/mt, up 320 yuan/mt from last Thursday.