Silicon Metal Price Center Narrowly Firmer, Wafer Range Highs Edge Up Slightly [SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary]

SMM August 12 News:

Silicon Metal

Price:

SMM East China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was around 9,100-9,200 yuan/mt yesterday, #441 silicon was around 9,200-9,400 yuan/mt, with the price center moving up slightly WoW. The most-traded contract trend was strong, with the most-traded SI2609 contract consolidating around 8,600 yuan/mt. Futures rose, coupled with silicon enterprises' reluctance to sell at low prices, leading to fewer low-priced sources in the silicon metal market. Silicon suppliers' price center was firm, while downstream enterprises showed more wait-and-see sentiment, making the market transaction atmosphere dull.

Production:

In July, national silicon metal production was 388,000 mt, up 8.3% MoM. In August, production cuts and maintenance at silicon metal enterprises increased, and production is expected to decline MoM to around 350,000 mt.

Inventory:

As of August 6, SMM statistics show total social inventory of silicon metal in major regions was 511,000 mt, down 12,000 mt WoW (excluding Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, etc.). Social inventory of silicon metal declined for consecutive weeks.

Silicone

Price

DMC: Main transaction prices were 12,800-13,300 yuan/mt. The price center moved up WoW, with transactions mainly driven by downstream rigid demand orders. Attention is on the release of downstream orders in late August.

D4: Quotes yesterday were 13,000-13,500 yuan/mt, averaging about 13,250 yuan/mt.

107 Silicone Rubber: Quotes yesterday were 13,000-14,000 yuan/mt, averaging about 13,500 yuan/mt.

Raw Rubber: Quotes yesterday were 13,500-14,500 yuan/mt, averaging about 14,000 yuan/mt.

Silicone Oil: Quotes yesterday were 14,500-15,500 yuan/mt, averaging about 15,000 yuan/mt.

Production:

The joint 50% production cut plan continued to advance in August, but the intensity of implementation varied among enterprises. However, due to low-price selling in July, most monomer plants had many pre-sale orders, and the operating rate in early August remained above 60%.

Inventory:

In July, stimulated by low market prices, midstream and downstream enterprises engaged in concentrated procurement, alleviating inventory pressure for some monomer enterprises. Inventory pressure for silicone monomer enterprises was relatively low.

Polysilicon

Price:

Polysilicon N-type recharging material quotes were 36.5-39.4 yuan/kg. Currently, some manufacturers' quotes have recovered, with low prices maintained at around 37 yuan and high prices mostly around 40 yuan, but downstream acceptance of high prices is limited at present. Meanwhile, silicon wafer transmission has encountered some resistance, and overall market transaction sentiment is limited.

Production

In July, China's production continued to rise, mainly due to capacity ramp-up in Sichuan, Yunnan, and other regions. Currently, August is also showing an increasing trend.

Inventory:

Recently, polysilicon inventory buildup has been quite noticeable, mainly because related meetings led to a sharp drop in market transactions, with upstream and downstream players mostly taking a wait-and-see attitude, subsequently causing inventory to rise.

Wafer

Price

The market price for 18X wafers is 0.798-0.827 yuan/piece, for 210RN wafers is 0.896-0.915 yuan/piece, and for 210N wafers is 1.097-1.113 yuan/piece. The high end of the wafer price range saw a slight uptick. Yesterday afternoon, a top-tier specialized wafer enterprise also stopped quoting prices, planning a price increase of over 10%. As of now, three enterprises have stopped quoting or suspended shipments.

Production

According to the latest SMM survey, August production is expected to decrease by 1-2 GW MoM. Although production has been cut for two consecutive months, overall production is still relatively high compared to demand. Recently, as wafer prices fell below cash costs, top-tier players with excessive inventory pressure chose to cut production in response. Additionally, the total amount and distribution ratio of external toll processing have seen adjustments.

Inventory

Inventory buildup among domestic wafer enterprises is showing a diverging trend, while inventories outside China are beginning to gradually destock. Specifically, after a brief downturn, India has obvious restocking demand from September to October. Additionally, the volume of re-export trade is increasing, with many African countries ranking among the top export destinations.

High-Purity Quartz Sand

Price

Currently, domestic inner-layer sand prices are 40,000-46,000 yuan/mt, middle-layer sand 21,000-24,000 yuan/mt, outer-layer sand 15,000-18,000 yuan/mt, and imported high-purity quartz sand 50,000-53,500 yuan/mt. The price of 33-inch quartz crucibles is 6,000-6,100 yuan/piece, and 36-inch quartz crucibles 6,500-6,800 yuan/piece. Crucible prices are generally stable, while quartz sand prices are showing slight differentiation. Spot order prices for imported sand have been raised. Recently, crucible factories have increased demand for high-quality quartz sand, driven by wafer manufacturers' requirements for single-crystal yield and crystal pulling duration.

Production

In August, China's planned production of high-purity quartz sand is expected to decrease by about 1% MoM, mainly because wafer production cuts for two consecutive months have led crucible factories to calculate demand to match supply, thereby slowing down the procurement pace of quartz sand. Recently, consumption of materials such as semiconductor-grade sand and PV quartz plates has seen a slight increase.

Inventory

In August, imported sand inventory continued to increase. In Q3 2026, wafer enterprises are purchasing crucibles reasonably based on planned production, leading to a continued rise in overall quartz sand inventory levels.