This week, as the price of the raw material alumina continued to decrease, its support for the production cost of white fused alumina continued to weaken, and because of concerns about the continued decline in alumina prices, white fused alumina processing manufacturers had a strong wait-and-see mood and did not dare to purchase too many blocks for production. Therefore, the output of white corundum has not been fully increased. It is expected that in the coming week, white fused alumina price may maintain a weak and stable trend.
As the heating season officially began, the winter air pollution prevention and control measures in many parts of northern China began to be implemented, and some manufacturers began to implement the staggered production plan. In addition, due to the continuous increase in natural gas prices and insufficient coking gas supply, the operating rate of bauxite production enterprises in Shanxi is less than 50%. Affected by this, the output of mature bauxite in the spot market has decreased, and the price of high-grade mature bauxite has appeared upward trend.
Although the price of brown corundum is slightly weaker this week, natural gas prices are rising, and the Winter Olympics is approaching, manufacturers are generally worried that production will be suspended again around January. In the meantime, due to the uncertainty of the increase in electricity prices and the increase in freight costs, brown fused alumina prices are still operating at a high level this week.
It is expected that in the coming week, as the number of manufacturers resuming operation continues to increase, the supply of brown fused alumina will be further stabilized. In a short period of time, the price of brown fused alumina may hardly rise, but the early price confusion will gradually disappear.
This week, due to weak downstream demand and strong wait-and-see sentiment in the market, the price of black silicon carbide was slightly lowered. However, due to strong production costs, most black silicon carbide manufacturers intend to maintain product prices strong. In addition, supported by factors such as rising electricity prices in Ningxia, it is expected that the price of black silicon carbide may remain stable in the coming week.
Due to the tight supply of petroleum coke in Xinjiang and the increase in prices this week, most local green silicon carbide manufacturers have recently raised their product quotations by about RMB 1,000/ton from the beginning of the month. As the price of petroleum coke has continued to rise in the past week, under the strong support of production costs, most local companies intend to continue to raise prices. It is expected that the price of green silicon carbide may continue to rise in the coming week.
5. Electricity prices rise in many places in China
On November 17, a new round of market-oriented reform of electricity prices has been launched by one month. 29 provinces have issued relevant notices to promote the market-oriented reform of coal-fired power price. More than 10 provinces, including Henan, Guizhou and other major production areas of abrasives in China, have specified that the electricity price for high-energy-consuming enterprises is 1.5 times the basic electricity price.
