Silicone

The transaction price of DMC kept rising this week, because of the decreasing supply caused by overhaul in some silicone monomer producers and the growing demand of the downstream customers. The price of silicon metal was in stability, that of methyl chloride was up and that of methanol dropped. The production cost of DMC was raised. In this week, in the increasing price of raw materials and the weak demand in the silicone terminal market, the prices of OH polymer, gum, HCR and silicone fluid fluctuated slightly. With a decrease in the silicone monomer supply and the reducing demand of customers, the silicone market price is slated to be stable in the short term.

Fumed silica

The domestic fumed silica market saw stability this week. The enterprises offered the unchanged prices. As to raw materials, the price of monomethyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) continued falling, rendering the reduction in production cost. The producers of RTV rubber and HCR purchased fumed silica based on demand, with the flat transaction volume. It is possible for the price of MTCS to fall to a small extent. The demand of fumed silica is still weak. However, the fumed silica companies showed strong enthusiasm for raising their quotations. In the near future, the fumed silica market price is projected to move sideways.

Silicon metal 

The price of silicon metal spot was overall stable this week. In December 2023, the price of silicon metal kept rising owing to the tight supply of low-grade silicon metal, the downstream terminal markets presented the wait-and-see attitudes. In respect to supply, silicon metal producers in northwest China were still reducing their production. In terms of demand, the rising price of silicone drove the demand for silicon metal. Although no new polysilicon project comes on stream in January 2024, the polysilicon producers may raise the operating rate, making the silicon metal demand grow. The price of aluminium alloy continued to grow, aluminium alloy producer had normal production and purchased silicon metal on needs.

Polysilicon 

The price of N-type polysilicon stabilized for this week, but that of P-type one decreased moderately. The actual transaction price of N-type polysilicon ranged RMB 58000 per ton and RMB 60000 per ton. The stable price of N-type polysilicon was due to that N-type polysilicon chips producers had the normal operating rate, and partial P-type polysilicon production was transferred to that of N-type one, abundantly consuming N-type polysilicon. In contrast, P-type polysilicon was in surplus as the downstream P-type silicon wafer companies continuously reduced operating rates, resulting in a slight fall of P-type polysilicon price.