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Monthly report: Needle coke market broadly holds steady in December

Large  Small Date:2019-01-02
Note: Monthly report: Needle coke market was stable overall in December.

ICC News: Needle coke market was stable overall in December. Given the buyers' propensity of making purchases while prices are up but not down, downstream sectors hold wait-and-see sentiments and only purchases as needed. Overall trading atmosphere in the last ten days of December was ok. As of late December, the prices of domestic raw needle coke were 13,500-16,500 yuan/MT and calcined needle coke 28,000-34,000 yuan/MT. The contract prices of imported needle coke for graphite electrode were 29,000-31,000 yuan/MT whereas spot prices were 33,500-34,500 yuan/MT. The spot prices of imported needle coke for anode materials were 17,000-18,000 yuan/MT and contract prices were 10,000-15,000 yuan/MT. On the supply-demand front, the terminal steel market largely in downward trend, with the output expected to drop further, which is likely a negative to demand for carbon products. Both manufacturers and traders of carbon products mainly hold wait-and-watch stance and are reluctant to take in deliveries. Meanwhile, refineries plants are saying they aim to ship as many goods as they can and don't have the pressure to push sales as they have already hit sales target ahead of time for this year. Although many new projects and delayed coking facilities are reported to be launched later, in fact whether they can be put into operation as planned remains uncertain. In the short term, the needle coke market will remain stable overall and prices will largely hold steady with mild movements. In downstream sectors, domestic graphite electrode market prices once again plummeted in December, sparking panic sell-offs at one point. As the steel output falls and many steel plants suspend production for maintenance in face of negative profits of steel after price plunges and due to restrictions on steel production in the heating season, demand for graphite electrodes began to decline as well since mid-November. With many graphite electrode manufacturers feeling jittery, the fierce competition in tender bidding prompted another round of price drop. As of late December, prevailing prices for 450mm UHP graphite electrode were 42,000-48,000 yuan/MT, down by 16,000 yuan/MT from the previous month; 600mm UHP graphite electrode was 78,000-90,000 yuan/MT, down by 11,000-20,000 yuan/MT; 700mm UHP graphite electrode remained at 100,000-130,000 yuan/MT. In company news, 1. Henan Kaitan New Materials Co., Ltd's 40KT/Y needle coke project started construction in late May, 2018 and was expected to be completed by September, 2019. So far, the equipment ordering work has basically finished; 40 percent of land construction is done and it is expected to be 100 percent done before soil starts to freeze in winter. 2. Maanshan Steel Chemical and Jinghua Carbon Co., Ltd has jointly set up the 120KT/Y needle coke and tar processing project in Jiexiu which has a total investment of 2.12 billion. The first phase of the project aims to build 300KY/Y tar processing plant, 40KT/Y needle coke production plant and supporting facilities. Sinosteel Anshan Research Institute of Thermo-Energy provides technical support for the project. The project will help provide raw materials for Maanshan Steel's 100KT/Y UHP graphite electrode project in Jiexiu going forward. 3. Shandong Yida New Materials Co., Ltd completed the testing of the rotary kiln this week and quality products have been rolled out. The rotary kiln is 2.8m in diameter and 60m in length. It will greatly improve the company's needle coke calcination capacity. Right now, Yida's calcination capacity is nearly 200MT per day. 4. The 600mm electrode made by one leading carbon producer in the country using Shandong Jingyang's petroleum needle coke has been recognized by a steel plant for its quality. 
 
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