Silicone

This week, the price of DMC continuously rose. As some silicone monomer producers overhauled their plants and even individual firms ceased selling, the supply of DMC spot decreased, while the downstream terminal customers raised the enthusiasm for purchasing DMC. The price of silicon metal was steadily increasing. The price of methyl chloride stabilized and that of methanol went up slightly. The production cost of DMC was up due to the rebounding price of raw materials. The prices of OH polymer, gum and silicone fluid mostly rose, but that of HCR was stable. In the near future, some silicone monomer producers will restart the devices, and the downstream terminal customers complete replenishment, the silicone price is expected to stop rising and  be stable.

Fumed silica

This week, the domestic fumed silica market was in stability. The enterprises in China mostly offered steady prices, individual ones increased price slightly. In terms of the raw materials, the price of silicon tetrachloride (STC) fell due to the oversupply. The price of monomethyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) rose, driven by production reduction in silicone monomers plants. In the week, the supply of fumed silica reduced due to the relatively low operating rate. Some of the current inventory got consumed, easing the oversupply. Remaining in off-season production, the downstream enterprises weren’t in extreme demand for fumed silica, with only a few trading volume. In case MTCS price keeps rising, the fumed silica price is expected to slightly rise. 

Silicon metal

The domestic price of silicon metal rose steadily this week. The futures market of silicon metal rebounded, boosting the market confidences. As a result, the large manufacturers raised prices and the spot supply of silicon metal was tight. On the supply, silicon metal producers in northwest China had stable operating rate. Most of producers in Yunnan Province resumed production, and those in Sichuan province ran normally as Chengdu Universiade ended. On the demand, the polysilicon and aluminium alloy firms had the stable operating rate. The silicone price rebounded amid increasing overhauled devices and reduced supply. Looking ahead, the supply and demand for silicon metal will remain weak, the spot prices of silicon metal will mainly fluctuate.

Polysilicon

This week, the mainstream trading price of polysilicon rose a bit. The price increase of N-type polysilicon was more than P-type one. On the supply side, despite declining inventory of polysilicon, there are numerous pending orders and some enterprises received small orders in urgency, increasing the possibility of raising the price for polysilicon companies. On the demand, as the silicon wafer price turned to rise slightly, the ingot mono pulling companies operated at a full capacity, driving the demand of polysilicon to grow. Therefore, polysilicon presented a short supply. Additionally, with the continuous release of N-type battery production capacity in H2 2023, the demand for N-type polysilicon is expected to surpass that of P-type, making N-type polysilicon price higher than that of P-type one.