Silicone

This week, the transaction price of DMC dropped owing to the increasing supply of DMC spot in contrast to weak demand from the downstream sectors. The price of silicon metal went down, but that of methyl chloride grew. The price of methanol was stable. The production cost of DMC reduced. With the falling price of raw materials, the prices of OH polymer, gum, HCR and silicone fluid all decreased. In the case that the leading silicone monomer producers lowered price, the downstream demand was sluggish and the production cost reduced, the silicone market price is expected to get low in the short period.  

Fumed silica

The domestic fumed silica market was sluggish, the transaction price of fumed silica fell this week. The price of monomethyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) continued rising and that of silicon tetrachloride (STC) remained relatively high. In the week, fumed silica firms ran normally, but the demand of fumed silica from the enterprises of RTV rubber and HCR stayed weak, with the limited market transaction volume. In the sufficient supply, the weak demand and the reduced production cost, the fumed silica market price is likely to fluctuatingly go down in the short term.

Silicon metal

The price of silicon metal spot this week continued to decline, with few transaction volume. On the supply side, the operating rate of the domestic silicon metal producers was stable, with both the shutdown for maintenance and the addition of new opening furnaces. On the demand side, partial silicone monomer plants undergoing overhaul were scheduled to restart in mid-to-late April, 2024, with new capacity to be released. The domestic output of silicone will increase this April. Silicone producers had the stable operating rate and they purchased silicon metal on the rigid demand. Polysilicon companies had the stable demand for silicon metal, while aluminium enterprises bought silicon metal on their needs amid the normal operation rate.

Polysilicon

The price of N-type rod-shaped polysilicon fell drastically. For P-type one, little trade volume was seen. The price of N-type granular polysilicon kept falling. Currently, the silicon wafer companies recover to buy polysilicon as they have almost used up the inventory of polysilicon. However, silicon wafer firms prefer to buy cheaper polysilicon in the case of the lowering price of silicon wafer. Partial enterprises are passionately purchasing the mixtures of N-type & P-type polysilicon at a lower price.