Silicon Metal Market Sentiment Remains Strong; Polysilicon Short-Term Inventory Still on the Rise [SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Briefing]

Silica

Price: Silica prices remained stable. With the decline in silicon metal operating rate in December, the demand for raw materials continued to weaken. Some silicon companies in north China have not yet completed their winter raw material procurement. Currently, the market's raw material procurement is still concentrated in the north. The mine-mouth price of high-grade silica in Jiangxi is 440-460 yuan/mt, in Inner Mongolia is 360-390 yuan/mt, and in Hubei is 420-450 yuan/mt.

Production: Near year-end, despite the continued reduction in silicon metal production at the end of last month, the supply side of silica has become more relaxed due to weakening demand.

Inventory: Especially in the southwest, where there are fewer operating silicon companies, the demand for silica restocking is concentrated in the north, with some northern silicon plants still replenishing their raw material inventory.

Silicon Metal

Price: Spot prices of silicon metal remained stable. Yesterday, the price of above-standard #553 silicon metal in east China was 11,600-11,800 yuan/mt, and #421 silicon metal was 12,100-12,300 yuan/mt. The silicon futures Si2501 contract fluctuated downward yesterday, closing at 12,270 yuan/mt. The wait-and-see sentiment in the silicon metal market was strong, with suppliers' quotations basically stable and downstream demand weak, resulting in sluggish actual transactions.

Production: Entering December, Sichuan and Yunnan saw further reduced production, coupled with partial production cuts by leading silicon companies in Xinjiang, offsetting the demand reduction brought by the decline in polysilicon production schedules. The supply and demand were basically balanced.

Inventory

Social Inventory: According to SMM statistics, as of November 29, the national social inventory of silicon metal was 514,000 mt, down 4,000 mt WoW. Among them, the social general warehouse inventory was 157,000 mt, up 3,000 mt WoW, and the social delivery warehouse inventory was 357,000 mt (including unregistered warehouse warrants), down 7,000 mt WoW.

Silicone

Price

DMC: The current price is 12,500-13,500 yuan/mt, with market transaction prices stable this week.

D4: The current price is 12,600-14,500 yuan/mt, with low-price shipments mainly in Shandong this week.

107 Silicone Rubber: The current price is 12,800-13,500 yuan/mt, with market low-end prices further reduced this week, and demand remains sluggish.

MVQ: The current price is 13,500-14,200 yuan/mt, remaining stable this week.

Silicone Oil: The current price is 14,500-16,000 yuan/mt, temporarily staying stable this week.

Production: This week, the operating rate of monomer enterprises in Shandong and Zhejiang continued to increase, while other monomer enterprises maintained stable operations, with the industry overall maintaining high operating rates.

Inventory: Domestic inventory increased slightly this week. As the traditional off-season approaches, downstream consumption demand is limited, leading to a slight increase in inventory.

Polysilicon

Price

Yesterday, the mainstream price of N-type polysilicon was 38-42 yuan/kg, and the mainstream price of dense polysilicon was 34-36 yuan/kg. Previous polysilicon order signing was basically completed, and the market gradually stabilized.

Production

December supply was lower than previously expected. With the MoM increase in electricity prices, production cuts further increased.

Inventory

In the short term, inventory still has an upward trend, but with continued production cuts, destocking is expected once demand recovers.

Wafer

Price

The market price for N-type 18X wafers is 1-1.03 yuan/piece, and for N-type 210RN wafers is 1.14-1.2 yuan/piece. Wafer prices remained stable this week, with continued destocking.

Production

December wafer production schedules are gradually being released. Due to the increased production by some first- and second-tier enterprises, wafer production increased slightly.

Inventory

Current inventory continues to decline slightly, with old inventory at wafer plants being cleared, reducing pressure.

High-Purity Quartz Sand

Price

This week, high-purity quartz sand prices remained stable. Domestic inner layer sand prices are 65,000-80,000 yuan/mt, middle layer sand prices are 35,000-50,000 yuan/mt, and outer layer sand prices are 19,000-30,000 yuan/mt. Recently, the price center for inner layer sand has further declined, with low-price quotations dominating the market. Some crucible enterprises are considering low-price purchases.

Production

This week, domestic sand enterprises maintained stable operations. Production capacity in Hubei and Anhui remained at low operating rates, with limited supply increases. Overseas operations remained stable.

Inventory

Domestic sand enterprise inventory continued to increase, with weak demand and limited December production schedules. Some outer layer sand enterprises are shifting production to quartz tubes, quartz parts, etc.