Monthly Review: Needle coke prices rise up 7-8% in October

 

In October, driven by factors such as raw materials and power restrictions, the main units of the needle coke market made timely adjustments to the selling prices of various products, needle tar after forging system increased 8%; a 6% increase in the coal system. The raw coke oil system and coal system were all raised by 7-8%; by the end of this month, the domestic coal-based needle coke was at $9,500-10,000/mt, oil-based needle coke was at $10,500-12,000/mt, joint coke was at $13,000/mt, raw coke was at $6,500-7,500/mt; as for import prices, coal-based needle coke was at $1,500-1,600, oil-based needle coke was at 1600-2500 USD/ton, and the price of coke for negative electrode is 850-1300 USD/ton. As for the import market, from January to September, China exported 30,000 tons of oil-based needle coke, imported 75,000 tons of oil-based, and imported 68,000 tons of coal-based.

 

In the downstream market, the domestic graphite electrode market price in October showed a continuous upward trend. As of October 28, the mainstream price of UHP450mm specification with 30% needle coke content in the market was RMB19,500-20,000/tonne, up RMB1,500/tonne from the end of September, and the mainstream price of UHP600mm specification was at RMB24-25,500/tonne, up RMB2,000/tonne. UHP700mm prices at 30,000-31,000 yuan / ton, also rose by the same amount. Short-term domestic power restrictions will continue, raw material prices will remain high, graphite electrode manufacturers are pessimistic about selling, and prices of graphite electrode products are expected to remain high in the aftermarket. Negative electrode material market tension in October continues, the rising trend of mainstream negative electrode material price is strong, Under the situation of the increasingly tight supply, negative electrode manufacturers cost increase significantly, the battery manufecturers are gradually acceptting the fact that the negative electrode price increases.Price increases is one of the main themes of the recent negative electrode market. Now the domestic low-end negative electrode 2.5-3.5 million yuan / ton, mid-range negative electrode material reported 3.9-5.2 million yuan / ton, high-end power products reported 5.2-6.8 million yuan / ton, high-end digital products reported 6.3-8.5 million yuan / ton. Overall, the short-term coke price is driven higher by the cost, the demand side which are aware of the trend of price increasing, are possitive to purchase according to their demand.