Approaching the Year-End, Selenium Prices Rebound Slightly [SMM Selenium Market Analysis]

SMM reported on December 27: After a period of persistent weakness and decline in domestic selenium product market prices, the last week of December saw no further weakening of selenium prices despite the impact of the year-end off-season. Instead, many manufacturers raised their selling prices ahead of the year-end, with significant increases particularly in selenium powder and selenium ingot prices. Meanwhile, due to frequent tenders for crude selenium and other selenium products by many manufacturers in the market recently, the prices of crude selenium and selenium dioxide remained stable. This week, as selenium prices strengthened overall, buying interest from downstream consumers and even speculators gradually increased. Following the continuous decline in selenium product prices earlier, which had pulled back to annual lows, the reduced price risk reignited interest from the consumption side in stockpiling selenium. Currently, SMM's average price for crude selenium is 125 yuan/kg, selenium dioxide is 110 yuan/kg, 99.9% selenium powder is 190 yuan/kg, and 99.99% selenium powder is 245 yuan/kg. Compared to last week, selenium powder and selenium ingot prices have rebounded significantly.

Many market participants indicated that from the perspective of selenium's downstream industries, such as manganese plants, this year's operating rate has remained very healthy. According to SMM's assessment, last year's total EMM production was approximately 1.07 million mt, while this year's EMM production is estimated to reach around 1.2 million mt. The YoY increase in EMM production is almost certain, which will provide support for future selenium prices.