Mysteel news: Domestic ultra-high power graphite electrode prices are strong

Recently, the quotation of UHP (ultra-high power) graphite electrode in China has been firm. As of press time, UHP graphite electrode φ450 quoted 26500-28500 yuan/ton, the φ600 quoted 28000-30000 yuan/ton. The market transaction didn‘t  performed well, and some transaction prices moved lower. 

Downstream aspect, the average operating rate of 85 independent EAF steel plants was 67.91%, a decrease of 1.71% month-on-month and a decrease of 12.75% year-on-year, among which, South China and Southwest China showed a slight downward trend, Central China showed a significant downward trend, and East China and Northeast China showed a slight upward trend. The operating rate of blast furnaces in 47 steel plants was 83.83%, an increase of 0.82% week-on-week and a decrease of 4.24% year-on-year. The operation of blast furnace had rebounded slightly. Due to the cost collapse and sustained losses, and the steel plants operation showed a downward trend, and their production enthusiasm was low. It is still possible to continue to reduce production or stop production. From the overall macro view in May, the market improvement signs are not obvious. In the case of weak supply and demand, the steel plants are expected to reduce inventory slightly, However, the expansion of the year-on-year growth rate has increased the pressure. Therefore, looking at the graphite electrode market from the downstream, which has a strong negative impact on the domestic large-scale UHP graphite electrode market.

Raw materials aspect, Fushun, Daqing and Jinxi petroleum coke prices have remained stable recently, and domestic needle coke prices run smoothly. The graphite electrode raw materials overally maintained stable operation, However, after the price of petroleum coke fell sharply in some markets, the steady operation was stopped. Under the increase of local refineries production volume and the increase of arrival volume at the port， domestic petroleum coke market supply showed a sharp rise in the later period, which had a negative impact on the overall petroleum coke market. However, under the background of stable economy, the petroleum coke market was either multi-warehouse or empty-warehouse, which still needed to be verified under the market regulation. It is expected that the domestic UHP graphite electrode price will weaken in the short term. For international graphite electrode market information, please feel free to contact us.