The domestic graphite electrode market showed a rapid upward trend in March. After the Spring Festival, the continuous rise of domestic raw material prices further promoted the rise of graphite electrodes. However, in Inner Mongolia, Gansu and other regions, there is limited power supply and the graphitization process is limited. Many manufacturers can only turn to Shanxi and other regions for processing. The output of some electrode factories that require graphitization foundry has slowed down. The supply of UHP550mm and below specifications on the market is still tight, and the price is firm, and the increase is more obvious, gradually narrowing the gap with large-size electrodes. High power and normal power also increased significantly.
As of March 25, the mainstream price of UHP450mm specifications with 30% needle coke content on the market is 1.8-18.5 million yuan/ton, an increase of 25 thousand yuan/ton from the end of February. The mainstream price of UHP600mm specifications is 2.3-23.5 million yuan/ton. This is an increase of 3,500 yuan/ton from last week, and the price of UHP700mm is 30,000-31,000 yuan/ton, up by 0.6-0.8 million yuan/ton. It is understood that mainstream graphite electrode manufacturers currently have insufficient inventory, and some orders have been placed in mid to late May. It is expected that the centralized supply of graphite electrodes on the market will also be concentrated during that period. Therefore, after a significant increase in the short term, it will continue to operate at a high level.
Raw materials
The raw material market prices continued to rise in March, and the ex-factory prices of Jinxi and Fushun plants were raised again. As of March 25, Fushun Petrochemical 1#A petroleum coke was quoted at 5,200 yuan/ton, an increase of 1,200 yuan/ton from the previous month. Low-sulfur calcined coke is quoted at 5100-5300 yuan/ton, an increase of 400 yuan/ton.
In March, domestic needle coke prices rose steadily. At present, the mainstream prices of domestic coal-based and oil-based products are 8500-11000 yuan/ton, an increase of 1,000-2000 yuan/ton from the previous month. Recently, graphite electrodes have limited acceptance of the continuous rise in raw materials, and mostly wait and see.
Steel plant aspect
Affected by the sharp rise in steel prices, the operating rate of electric furnace steel this year has advanced earlier than previous years, and the operating rate of electric furnace steel across the country has also rebounded rapidly to 85%, slightly higher than the level of the same period in previous years. Therefore, since the beginning of the month, steel mills have sporadic bidding, and a wave of centralized procurement has appeared in the middle of the month. Therefore, starting from a certain day in mid-March, mainstream graphite electrode manufacturers have collectively adjusted their prices. Among them, UHP700mm has seen a substantial increase, with an increase of 6000-8000 yuan/ton. The market quotation was once more chaotic, and some small and medium-sized manufacturers have not yet reflected it. Many trades It is common to receive large-scale price increases only when inquiries are made. The main reasons are: graphite electrode manufacturers believe that the pace of recent product price adjustments is far inferior to the increase in raw material ex-factory prices; Try to make up for your losses.
Affected by the recovery of downstream demand and the limited production of Tangshan Steel Plant, the domestic rebar market rebounded slightly this week, and the decline in social stocks expanded. As of March 25, the average price of rebar in the domestic market was 4734 yuan, up 44 yuan from last weekend.
As the recent scrap market trend is weaker than that of steel, the overall profitability of electric furnace steel mills continues to rise. Most of the factories in the south are in full production, and the production capacity of some steel mills in the north is still constrained by the shortage of scrap steel.
As of March 25, the national electric furnace capacity utilization rate rose to 71.06%, an increase of 6.2% from last week, and the electric furnace steel output rose to 386,600 tons per day, which was significantly higher than the level of the same period in the previous two years.