China Abrasive Materials Weekly Price (4th-10th Jan): Local logistics will be disrupted
According to Antaike Information’s alumina price index on January 8th, China’s alumina spot index was at RMB 2,327 /ton, and the price remained firm, with a slight increase; the national average alumina price was RMB 2,559 /ton which had also a slight increase, compared to last week.
Affected by the current spike Covid-19 cases in many places in China, the limited logistics and transportation in the northern region has become the main factor affecting alumina prices at this time. In addition, due to the rise in thermal coal prices, the cost of alumina has increased slightly recently.
With the lifting of environmental protection control, white fused alumina enterprises in Henan and Shandong Province have begun to resume production successively and continue to increase their operating load. As the manufacturers currently have no inventory pressure, and the raw material alumina price has always maintained a slight upward trend, it is expected that domestic alumina prices will continue to show a steady upward trend next week.
This week, the brown fused alumina production companies in Henan began to resume production in succession. As there are some orders which have not yet been delivered during the shutdown period, local companies are focusing on completing the delivery of orders received.
In addition, the price of raw material iron filings and the consumable graphite electrode used for smelting brown corundum is increasing. Due to the large price increase, the pressure on the production cost continues to rise. It is expected that in the coming week, considering the current reported Covid-19 cases outbreak in many places in China and the affected national logistics and transportation, the intention of stocking may increase, and the price of brown fused alumina may remain firm.
This week, although the prices of anthracite and other raw materials are still rising at a high level, as most downstream customers have completed stocking, market demand has weakened, and the price of black silicon carbide remained strong but stopped continuing to rise. It is expected that in the coming week, under the support of raw material costs, the price of black silicon carbide in China may remain firm.
This week, although the price of raw material petroleum coke continued to rise, the price of green silicon carbide in China continued to run steadily because downstream customers did not accept the price increase.