【Negative Electrode】Intense Competition Among SMEs 

in Rigid Procurement Negative Electrode Market

1. Petroleum Coke

In February, the overall market trading situation for low-sulfur petroleum coke remains acceptable, with aluminum carbon enterprises actively stocking inventory, supporting domestic petroleum coke prices. Some refineries in the northeastern region under PetroChina have adjusted their resources externally, resulting in a slight tightening of supply in the market for high-quality low-sulfur petroleum coke, with prices showing a minor upward trend. Some enterprises in the negative electrode market have not yet resumed operations, and the overall resumption of work in the market is average, with a preference for just-in-time demand for raw materials. Due to adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, and freezing, road transportation has been partially obstructed, leading to a slowdown in delivery speed for some refineries. 

2. Calcined Petroleum Coke

This month, the price of low-sulfur calcined petroleum coke in the northeastern region remained stable at 3900 yuan/ton compared to the previous month. Downstream willingness to receive goods improved, and the market sentiment was good, with calcined petroleum coke prices running steadily. Trading in low-sulfur calcined petroleum coke is generally moderate, with strong wait-and-see sentiment and low enthusiasm for signing orders. There have been no significant changes in overall production, except for slight adjustments in production schedules at some calcined petroleum coke plants. Mainstream markets mainly execute orders, and in some regions, the phased replenishment of downstream customers has been largely completed.

3. Needle Coke

The needle coke market continued to operate calmly in February. The price of oil-based needle coke for production was 5000 yuan/ton, and for ready-made coke, it was 7500 yuan/ton. For coal-based needle coke, the prices were 5000 yuan/ton for production and 7500 yuan/ton for ready-made coke. Despite normal production and shipment during the Spring Festival holiday, demand for new orders was limited, resulting in a slight overall decline in production, with downstream demand for needle coke continuing to be dominated by just-in-time requirements.

4. Asphalt Coating

In February, asphalt coating prices remained weak, with oil-based prices stable at 11500 yuan/ton and coal-based prices stable at 10500 yuan/ton. After the Spring Festival holiday, some negative electrode enterprises resumed work slowly, with fewer new orders overall. Some manufacturers reported that compared to previous years, the overall market was relatively sluggish, with low purchasing sentiment downstream and overall market calmness.

5. Natural Graphite Negative Electrode

This month, the natural graphite market operated weakly and steadily. Production in northern regions was restricted by environmental protection measures and cold weather. Major production areas such as Heilongjiang and Jixi gradually resumed work at the end of March, while the flotation lines in Luobei were gradually commissioned in May due to differences in environmental acceptance. By the end of June, work resumption had returned to normal levels. Due to the completion of pre-holiday stocking, the current market demand was weak, with weak support for natural graphite prices, making it difficult to push prices higher. The market overall operated weakly, with prices in a low consolidation phase.

6. Artificial Graphite Negative Electrode

In February, just-in-time purchasing remained dominant before and after the Spring Festival holiday, with major factories adjusting production based on previous order volumes. Inventories of negative electrode materials remained high, with some enterprises conducting line maintenance and basic production during the Spring Festival period, while some small-scale enterprises stopped production for maintenance. Artificial graphite negative electrode materials are the mainstream in the market, with a high degree of industry concentration, with major enterprises occupying most of the market share. Competition among small and medium-sized enterprises remains fierce. The capacity of new negative electrode materials is expanding, but technical challenges still need to be overcome, and it cannot rise to the mainstream position in the short term. More information on the upstream & downstream market analysis of negative electrode materials, feel free to contact us.