China Corundum Market Analysis in November 2018
Updated: Dec 10, 2018
In November 2018, the operating rate and output of domestic white corundum production enterprises continued to decline. At present, the market is generally out of stock and the factory orders are difficult to deliver.
In November 2018, the operating rate and output of domestic white corundum production enterprises continued to decline. Affected by the air pollution control policy in the heating season, the two main production areas of China's white corundum are successively in a state of suspension of production in Henan and Shandong. Some white fused smelting furnaces have only a single digit of production days, and the market supply of white corundum is greatly reduced. The price of the tightly supported white corundum market is firm. At present, the market is generally out of stock and the factory orders are difficult to deliver.
All the smelting furnaces in the Liaocheng Industrial Park in Shandong were shut down due to maintenance of the power supply unit. The white fused alumina plants in Henan Province were shut down due to environmental inspections. As a result, the market was in short supply and traders began to take orders with caution. Market participants believe that due to tight supply support, it is expected that the price of white corundum will continue to run at a high level in the coming week.
Due to the recent closure of brown corundum production enterprises in Yichuan and Sanmenxia, Henan, the price of brown corundum is almost the same as that of white corundum. There is a downstream purchase of commercial white corundum instead of brown corundum for production, but since white corundum also has the same shortage of stocks and rising prices, most companies are still cautiously watching the price trends of related materials.
In November, the price of brown corundum continued to rise, and the market sentiment was tense. China's bauxite market supply will tighten or become the norm, and with the arrival of the heating season, China's bauxite prices may rise further. Entering the heating season, affected by the air pollution control policy and environmental supervision, and the difficulty in purchasing raw materials, the production of brown corundum in the domestic market has been greatly reduced, resulting in a very tight spot supply. Compared with the refractory market, the downstream demand for abrasives is sluggish and the turnover is deserted. Therefore, some brown corundum processing enterprises have adjusted the production ratio of refractory grade brown corundum and grinding grade brown corundum.
In early November, the Central Environmental Protection Inspector Group re-entered Shanxi Province, and the bauxite calcination and processing enterprises in Xiaoyi District of Shanxi Province entered a large-scale production stoppage. Only 20 enterprises resumed production after environmental protection acceptance, but the market generally further strengthened the environmental inspection. The panic has been increased or caused by the expansion of the scope of production suspension, and prices have continued to rise. The smog weather in Henan is serious. On November 22, many cities in the province have issued orange warnings for heavy pollution. The corundum smelting furnace continues to be restricted. The browning rate of brown fused alumina smelting enterprises in Henan is about 80%, and the operating rate of smelting furnaces in production enterprises is less than half. The operating rate of Guizhou brown fused alumina enterprises is about 30% due to shortage of raw materials and environmental inspection. According to the news, the brown corundum production enterprises in Dengfeng area may still have a peak production period of half a month in December, but will stop production in January next year. The brown corundum granulating enterprises in Yichuan area will continue to limit production until December 15th. Production, and the date of resumption of smelting enterprises is still unknown.
In summary, this has caused a tight supply situation in the brown corundum market, and the price has also risen linearly. At present, the market price has approached the white corundum. As the enterprises are all in a state of production suspension, the long-term suspension of production has resulted in out-of-stock export, machine idle, capital and labor costs, resulting in double pressure on brown corundum production enterprises. In addition, the current situation of the sintered bauxite market in China is more complicated. When the bauxite ore is higher than the clinker, the clinker price is likely to break through the pressure and continue to rise. Moreover, the price of natural gas in Yangquan has risen to 4.1 yuan/m3, and it is expected that natural gas prices will continue to rise in the later period. In the Yangquan area, many companies that use natural gas production have been forced to stop production due to the pressure of raw materials. In short, this year's sintered bauxite market will be more difficult to predict, and the task of ensuring supply will be even more severe.
1.3 Black Silicon Carbide
In November, the domestic black silicon carbide market price is basically stable, but there are signs of loosening, there is a slight downward trend, there are still a considerable number of silicon carbide enterprises stick to the price. However, the overall supply of the market is stable, the inventory is gradually increasing, and the market demand is relatively weak. It is expected that the transaction price of domestic black silicon carbide first-grade products may have a small room for decline. At present, the mainstream transaction price of China's black silicon carbide block is 6400-6600 yuan / ton (including 6 months acceptance of tax ex-factory). The anthracite price is firm and other factors lead to high production costs. Some manufacturers still insist on the price, but the downstream demand is weak, the market transaction is dull, and if the production enterprise wants to keep the current price, the transaction speed will further slow down. It is expected that the price of black silicon carbide in China will be slightly reduced by 100-150 yuan/ton in the coming week.
1.4 Green Silicon Carbide
In November, the market price of green silicon carbide is stable, but there is an upward trend. At present, domestic green silicon carbide production enterprises only have single digits. With the arrival of winter, some manufacturers will stop production at the end of the year, and the market supply will become more and more tense. After November, the price of petroleum coke in Xinjiang still kept rising, the production cost of green silicon carbide original block increased, and the transaction price of the original block increased. In addition, some domestic green silicon carbide grain sand and micro powder processing enterprises began to try to increase the product. price. Affected by the limited supply of the market and the increase in the price of petroleum coke, it is expected that the price of green silicon carbide in China will increase by 100-200 yuan/ton in the coming week.
#white fused alumina #brown fused alumina #abrasives