China's petroleum coke import volume in the first quarter ( year-on-year basis)

China's petroleum coke import volume in the first quarter ( year-on-year basis)     

Market analysis

In the first quarter, China's petroleum coke imports fell by 9.99% year-on-year.

According to General Administration of Customs' data analysis, in the first quarter of 2022, China's petroleum coke (including oil-based needle coke, the same below) total import volume was 2,450,500 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 271,900 tons or 9.99% compared with 2021. Petroleum coke produces high quality graphite electrode for reference. In the first quarter of 2022, green petroleum coke import volume was 2,410,900 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 256,400 tons or 9.61%. In March, China's petroleum coke import volume was 937,100 tons, an increase of 41.14% compared with February, and a decrease of 22.52% compared with March 2021.

In the first quarter, China's petroleum coke market trading was fair. Due to the Winter Olympic Games production restriction policies and the heating season environmental protection production suspension and restriction requirements, the demand side producing operation maintained a low level, the same situation of the refineries' delayed coking units, China's petroleum coke overall supply was low. However, most of the imported petroleum coke in China is fuel grade petroleum coke, which has limited supplement to the domestic petroleum coke market. Carbon enterprises still purchase domestic petroleum coke for production, driving petroleum coke price to rise continuously. In the first quarter, the average dependence on petroleum coke imports was 21.8%, a year-on-year decrease of 2.55%.

In the first quarter, the main sources of green petroleum coke were still the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia. The United States imported 959,600 tons of green petroleum coke, a year-on-year decrease of 29.76% compared with 2021. According to market statistics and analysis, the United States imported petroleum coke is mainly medium and high sulfur fuel grade petroleum coke. Affected by international events, the global energy price has risen, the foreign market price of imported petroleum coke has remained high, the driving force of domestic spot price rising is lower than the foreign market, in some ports the spot price has been upside down. Formosa Plastics Group imported petroleum coke increased by 147.68% year-on-year. The spot petroleum coke at the port was strongly supported by demand, and the FOB bid price was once pushed up to $460. In the first quarter, no low sulfur petroleum coke was imported from Argentina to the port, and the import volume of low sulfur coke from Romania and Brazil fell by more than 16% year-on-year. Although Indonesia petroleum coke imports increased year on year, it still could not make up for domestic low sulfur petroleum coke resources shortage due to quality problems, and the domestic demand side market was well supported, driving PetroChina and CNOOC low sulfur petroleum coke prices to rise by about 2500 yuan/ton compared with the end of 2021.

Market forecast

At present, the foreign market price remains high, and the imported petroleum coke price to port is still expected to rise. With the resumption of domestic maintenance refineries' production, petroleum coke supply is likely to rise. Although the operation of downstream carbon enterprises is relatively stable, the receiving capacity of high price petroleum coke is limited. At present, import traders take a cautious attitude towards the offer. Since June, the imported petroleum coke resources may be tightened, in the second quarter, the import volume may still decline year-on-year. Contact us for the last raw material market reports.