As the production ramp-up of new DMC facilities slowed down, the operating rates of DMC plants slightly decreased in June

At the beginning of this week, online DMC prices of enterprises in Shandong held stable at 13,500 yuan/mt, with the second bidding price at 13,400 yuan/mt. Leading producers kept DMC offers at 13,900 yuan/mt, while other producers quoted DMC at around 13,600 yuan/mt, with mainstream transaction prices around 13,600 yuan/mt.

Previously, as some downstream companies replenished inventory for rigid demand, transactions slightly improved and the inventory held by DMC producers decreased. The low-price DMC slightly increased by 100 yuan/mt. This week, market transactions weakened again, and DMC prices slightly declined in some areas. After the price drop, downstream companies rushed to stock up, and then the prices stabilised.

June DMC production decreased slightly, but the decline was minimal. The domestic DMC production in June was 206,000 mt, down 0.72% MoM. The output in January-June totalled 1.1654 million mt, up 17.72% YoY. The production increase was affected by minor issues with newly commissioned capacity, and some enterprises halted production for maintenance. Additionally, some DMC producers had new maintenance plans in June.

SMM believes that DMC production will increase. Producers will resume production after maintenance. Two domestic DMC producers will have new capacity put into operation in July, with trial production planned and production increase expected from late July to August. SMM expects domestic DMC production in July to slightly rise to 211,500 mt.