Polysilicon Spot Cargo Weakened, High Prices in the Mid-Layer Sand Range Slightly Adjusted Downward [SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Minutes]

SMM May 27:

Silicon Coal

Price: Silicon coal prices weakened in some regions recently. Shaanxi silicon coal was at 780-800 yuan/mt, with the average price down 35 yuan/mt. Gansu silicon mixed coal was at 950 yuan/mt and silicon granular coal at 1,090 yuan/mt, with average prices down 30 yuan/mt and 10 yuan/mt respectively. Prices in other regions remained stable for now.

Supply: Overall supply was loose. Downstream silicon plants maintained low operating rates, and some coal washing plants faced inventory pressure.

Demand: Judging from the weekly operating conditions of downstream silicon plants, silicon plant operating rates in south-west China saw a slight increase, but the impact was limited. Therefore, silicon plant procurement remained on an as-needed basis, and overall demand remained weak.

Silicon Metal

Price: Yesterday, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 9,000-9,200 yuan/mt, and #441 silicon was at 9,300-9,400 yuan/mt. Silicon metal prices consolidated within a range. Some silicon suppliers' offers were flat WoW, while others' offer centers shifted upward within the range WoW, influenced by freight and futures prices. The market was dominated by as-needed transactions.

Production:

Both supply and demand of silicon metal are expected to increase in June. On the supply side, the main incremental volume in June will come from production resumptions at some silicon enterprises in Sichuan and Yunnan during the rainy season. On the demand side, the incremental volume will mainly be driven by production resumptions at leading polysilicon enterprises.

Inventory:

Social Inventory: According to SMM statistics, as of May 21, social inventory of silicon metal in major regions totaled 552,000 mt, up 8,000 mt WoW (excluding Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and other regions).

Silicone

Price

DMC: The most-traded contract transaction price was 14,700-15,000 yuan/mt, with an average price of approximately 14,850 yuan/mt. On a weekly basis, overall market transactions were mediocre, with strong wait-and-see sentiment among downstream players. To stabilize market prices, silicone monomer enterprises reached a new consensus that the subsequent DMC net water price would be 14,800 yuan/mt.

D4: Yesterday's offer was 14,900-15,200 yuan/mt.

107 Silicone Rubber: Yesterday's offer was 14,800-15,200 yuan/mt, with an average price of approximately 15,000 yuan/mt.

Crude Rubber: Yesterday's offer was 15,000-15,500 yuan/mt, with an average price of approximately 15,250 yuan/mt.

Silicone Oil: Yesterday's offer was 16,200-16,700 yuan/mt, with an average price of approximately 16,450 yuan/mt.

Production:

From a weekly supply perspective, supply edged down WoW due to maintenance at individual monomer enterprises. To further balance market supply and demand, silicone monomer enterprises upgraded their latest emission reduction efforts, specifying that the preliminary planned emission reduction ratio for June-August would be raised to 40%, an increase of 5 percentage points from the previous level.

Inventory:

Some upstream producers maintained relatively low inventory levels, supported by existing pre-sale order backlogs.

Polysilicon

Price:

N-type recharging polysilicon was quoted at 33-35.9 yuan/kg. Polysilicon prices were generally weak overall. Dense/recharging polysilicon prices remained relatively stable with low trading volume. Mixed packages gradually became the market mainstream, with prices for some grades falling to around 30 yuan.

Production

In June, several production bases in Qinghai, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and other regions in China plan to ramp up production, and polysilicon production is expected to see a significant increase.

Inventory:

Polysilicon inventory currently decreased. Earlier order signing in the market was considerable, with some orders continuing to be shipped, leading to reduced polysilicon inventory.

Wafer

Price

The market price of 18X wafers was 0.88-0.9 yuan/piece, 210RN wafers were priced at 0.98-1.00 yuan/piece, and 210N wafers were priced at 1.18-1.2 yuan/piece. Currently, the lower end of the 210R price range still shows a downward trend, while the other two sizes remain temporarily stable, with leading wafer enterprises still holding prices firm. According to SMM statistics, overall furnace-loading costs across companies declined notably, and current selling prices can still cover cash costs.

Production

According to the latest SMM survey feedback, May production schedules were slightly revised down from expectations. The incremental volume from the rainy season is partially reflected in June, with preliminary expectations for June wafer production schedules at approximately 54-55 GW. Some enterprises have not yet finalized their production schedule plans, and we will make adjustments based on actual conditions going forward.

Inventory

Wafer enterprise inventory shifted toward an increase. Recently, as marginal demand from export orders weakened, the wafer segment maintained expectations of a slight surplus in May. The pace of inventory buildup at wafer enterprises showed an accelerating trend. Marginal demand from bonded zone inventory orders outside China weakened, and the wafer segment is still expected to maintain a slight surplus in June.

High-Purity Quartz Sand

Price

Currently, the price of inner-layer sand in China was 40,000-45,000 yuan/mt, middle-layer sand was priced at 20,000-24,000 yuan/mt, and outer-layer sand was priced at 16,000-18,000 yuan/mt. Imported high-purity quartz sand was priced at 50,000-55,000 yuan/mt. The price of 33-inch quartz crucibles was 6,000-6,200 yuan/piece, and 36-inch quartz crucibles were priced at 6,700-6,900 yuan/piece. The upper end of the middle-layer sand price range edged down slightly.

Production

June production schedules for quartz sand enterprises are expected to edge up. Driven by increased wafer production schedules, multiple crucible manufacturers reported improved order demand. High-purity quartz sand enterprises in China formulated production plans to match wafer demand, while a certain ex-China high-purity quartz sand enterprise postponed its average production plan.

Inventory

In Q2 2026, crucible enterprises purchased reasonably based on wafer planned production, and quartz sand inventory levels continued to increase.