Modified pitch prices surge by 2,400–2,500 yuan/ton! Cost pressure on graphite electrodes spikes!

On September 10, China’s leading modified asphalt company Baowu Carbon announced a price adjustment notice, raising the ex-factory price of modified asphalt across all its production bases. The increase per batch is 2,400-2,500 yuan/ton. The new prices at each base are: Carbon Nanjing 8,600 yuan/ton, Wuhan Baoju 8,500 yuan/ton, Baohua Zhanjiang 8,600 yuan/ton, Chongqing Baocheng 8,600 yuan/ton, Wuhai Baoqi 8,550 yuan/ton, Baotou Baokai 8,600 yuan/ton, Xinjiang Baoxin 8,800 yuan/ton.

Modified asphalt is the core binder material for graphite electrode production and accounts for a significant portion of the production cost, with over 20% of raw material costs coming from it. Earlier, needle coke prices had already started to rise, and with this big hike in modified asphalt prices, the production costs for graphite electrode companies continue to go up.

With cost support and a recovery in steel mill procurement demand, steel mills had already implemented earlier increases in graphite electrode purchase prices. With raw material price hikes continuing, the cost-side support in the graphite electrode market is getting even stronger, and the market generally expects that graphite electrode prices still have room to go up.