The domestic graphite electrode market quotations are quite different this week.
Market aspect
Beginning in early August, some large manufacturers and some new electrode manufacturers have caused a backlog of inventories due to poor early shipments, and they have begun to sell goods at low prices in the market. Many manufacturers have begun to sell products at low prices due to the recent strong raw material prices. Graphitization prices continue to rise. Considering the cost, they are reluctant to ship at a low price and are willing to stand up for the price. As a result, market prices have diverged. For electrodes of the same specification and model, the price difference between different manufacturers can reach 2000-3000 yuan/ton, making the mainstream price of ultra-high-power electrode market a slight correction this week, and the prices of ordinary power and high-power are relatively stable.
As of August 19, the mainstream price of UHP450mm specifications with 30% needle coke content on the market is 1.8--18,500 yuan/ton, and the mainstream price of UHP600mm specifications is 22-2.4 million yuan/ton, a decrease of 0.15-0.2 million yuan from last weekend. Tons, the price of UHP700mm is maintained at 28000-30000 yuan/ton.
Raw materials
Domestic petcoke prices were basically stable this week. As of August 19, Fushun Petrochemical 1#A petcoke was quoted at RMB 4,100/ton, and low-sulfur calcined coke was quoted at RMB 5,600-5,800/ton. The market shipments are acceptable. Domestic needle coke quotations continued to be stable this week, and downstream electrode customers were not willing to get the goods. As of this Thursday, the mainstream prices of domestic coal-based and oil-based products market are 8000-11000 yuan/ton.
Steel plant aspect
Domestic demand was poor this week, and steel prices generally showed a fluctuating downward trend, with an average decline of around 80 yuan/ton. Scrap steel fell more and rose less, and both the cost and profit of electric furnace steel plants fell. In July, the average daily output of crude steel, pig iron and steel products in my country was 2,799,700 tons, 2,350,000 tons, and 3.5806 million tons, respectively, down 10.53%, 6.97%, and 11.02% from June.
As of August 19, the average production cost of grade 3 rebar in domestic independent electric furnace steel plants was 4951 yuan/ton, a decrease of 20 yuan/ton from last week; the average profit was 172 yuan/ton, a decrease of 93 yuan/ton from last week.
Market forecast: Due to the recent rebound in raw material prices, many electrode manufacturers have not produced full capacity due to risk issues. There are still uncertainties in steel mills' production reductions and production limits in the later period. In the short term, the graphite electrode market will have a limited callback, and the overall market will be small. Mainly volatility.
Post time: Aug-23-2021