Silicone

This week, the price of DMC fell moderately. The major silicone monomer producers lowered the DMC price, and some others followed to do it, resulting in improved transaction amount. The price of silicon metal went on falling. The price of methyl chloride and that of methanol fluctuated in a slight manner. The production cost of DMC reduced a bit. With the falling price of raw materials and the reducing cost, the prices of OH polymer, gum, silicone fluid and HCR mostly decreased across China. Although the silicone monomer producers had low operating rate, the downstream markets saw the sluggish demand for silicone. The silicone price is expected to stay relatively low in the short term.

Fumed silica

This week, the domestic fumed silica market presented stability. Although the enterprises offered the steady price,  each one was inclined to lower the sales price amid the high inventory. In terms of the raw materials, the prices of monomethyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) and silicon tetrachloride (STC) were stable, the production cost of fumed silica was unchanged. In the week, the demand for fumed silica in the downstream markets was still weak. Amid the abundant supply of fumed silica and the downstream market entering the off-season, the fumed silica market is expected to consolidate in the short term.

Silicon metal

This week, the decline in the domestic price of silicon metal narrowed. Currently, the reduction in electricity price during the wet season is limited, leading to most silicon metal factories operating at a loss. Moreover, the resumption of production in southwest China fell short of expectations, resulting in an overall slow increase in production. The downstream demand for silicon metal was sluggish, with few transactions, players purchased it on rigid demand. It is expected that the price of silicon metal will stay relatively low in the near future.

Polysilicon 

This week, the decline in the polysilicon price expanded, resulting in transactions speedily made. The reasons for the widened decline of polysilicon price were as follows: First, as the price of silicon chips continued to fall, most of enterprises significantly reduced the demand of polysilicon in order to reduce safety inventory of silicon chip. Second, as the expansion projects will come on line in the third quarter and most companies will face risk of losses during the capacity expansion, some companies may choose to delay startup of expansion plants. Third, the intensification of upstream and downstream players’ competition caused enterprises dumping inventory, thus accelerating the decline in polysilicon prices.