On Monday, driven by a sharp surge in raw material costs, the overall price center of China’s organic silicon market moved higher again. The price of metallic silicon raw materials remained firm at a high level, putting significant cost pressure on manufacturers. Industry enterprises generally passed on the cost pressure to the downstream, pushing quotations across the whole industrial chain to rise continuously. Nevertheless, downstream buyers showed low acceptance of high-priced goods and only purchased according to rigid demand. The newly adjusted quotations have not been fully implemented in actual transactions, leaving the market in a stalemate of rising offers but sluggish trading volume.
Prices varied noticeably among different product categories. As of May 11, the mainstream quoted price of DMC was adjusted to 14,800–15,900 yuan/ton, with the lower end rising compared with the earlier period. The mainstream price of 421# metallic silicon in Xinjiang stayed steady at 9,300–9,700 yuan/ton, providing solid cost support for the organic silicon market. The mainstream quotation of silicone oil remained at 16,600–17,000 yuan/ton, while that of 107 silicone adhesive was centered at 15,500–15,800 yuan/ton.
At present, the operating rate of major production facilities in the industry remains at a relatively low level, and the delivery of existing orders proceeds steadily. However, downstream end users are highly resistant to high raw material prices, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment and weak willingness for actual procurement and stockpiling. In the short term, backed by strong cost support, China’s organic silicon market is expected to maintain a high-level performance with narrow range fluctuations.