On July 28, the silicon branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association announced that the slow decline of polysilicon prices continued, with a maximum decline of nearly 2%.
The transaction price of recharging material this week was 200,000-211,000 yuan/ton, with an average price of 206,100 yuan/ton, down 0.96% from last week.
The transaction price of polysilicon prime for mono falls between 197,000 to 207,000 yuan/ton, with an average price of 202,900 yuan/ton, down 1.50% from last week.
The transaction price of polysilicon prime for multi is 196,000-204,000 yuan/ton, with an average price of 195,500 yuan/ton, down 1.97% from last week.
Since the slip of wafer price at the end of June, the force driving the rise of polysilicon price no longer exists. After the first decline in early July, the price has fallen for four consecutive weeks.
The Association attributes the slow decline of silicon price to the low operation rate of wafer manufacturers, whose main focus is inventory clearance at the moment. While their demand to procure silicon is yet to resume, polysilicon supply has increased steadily after the resumption of production and expansion of silicon manufacturers. Therefore, the suppressed demand and rising supply form a short-term supply-demand mismatch, resulting in the temporary slow decline of silicon prices.
It was previously believed that the rapid expansion of silicon wafers, cells and modules may increase the demand for silicon materials, resulting in a tight supply of silicon materials in the second half of the year. However, Lv Jinbiao, Deputy Director of the expert committee of the silicon branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, believes that as long as polysilicon manufacturers ensure safe production without accidents, the balance between supply and demand can be maintained.
However, according to the production expansion plan of polysilicon manufacturers, Solarbe expects to see a surplus of silicon materials by Q4 of 2022, and the price will fall sharply.
For cell and module manufacturers, cheaper silicon materials and wafers means lower production costs. This may benefit customers and end-users. Considering that the price transmission of the industrial chain takes a certain time, module prices have not seen signs of reduction. However, many believe that the wave of module price reduction will soon arrive.
