【Petroleum Coke】Slight price increase due to market demand and inventory replenishment

In the petroleum coke market, overall shipment remains stable. At the beginning of May, the pre-baked anode was re-priced and saw a significant drop in price, leading to a general mood of cautiousness among companies to accept shipments. Calcined coke has better chemical and physical indexes for reference... However, with refinery inventories at low levels and some downstream companies needing to restock after the May Day holiday, coke prices have slightly increased. 

The petroleum coke prices of Sinopec's refineries have slightly rebounded, while certain refineries under PetroChina have raised their coke prices by 200 yuan/ton. Prices for petroleum coke at all refineries under CNOOC have remained stable, with local refineries seeing mostly small increases of 30-150 yuan/ton.

This week, with a high level of demand from end-users for deliveries, the majority of coke shipments from ports are still domestic, but current inventory levels of spot petroleum coke at ports continue to rise. In the sponge coke market, demand has slightly increased after the holiday due to some downstream companies needing to restock, leading to a small price increase for domestic petroleum coke. However, the high cost of imported petroleum coke is still hindering trade and causing some reluctance to sell, resulting in low levels of imported coke shipments.

In the shot coke market, overall demand remains weak, with the silicon carbide market in a downturn and coal prices continuing to decline. Demand for high-sulfur fuel coke is generally weak, while the supply of low and medium-sulfur shot coke remains stable. In terms of Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics' coke, trading in the silicon metal market is still weak, and their coke shipments remain average.

This week, some downstream companies have restocking demands, providing support for the increase in coke prices. However, with the significant drop in pre-baked anode prices in May, the cautiousness of downstream carbon companies has increased, leading to purchasing based on demand. The overall operating rate of the negative electrode and electrode industry is not high, and production is mostly based on sales orders. The silicon metal and silicon carbide industries are not enthusiastic about production due to poor market conditions, resulting in relatively low demand for petroleum coke.

Regarding inventory, this week refineries are mostly fulfilling their previous orders, resulting in overall low levels of petroleum coke inventory. The majority of shipments from ports are still domestic, and delivery speed remains slow. Additionally, there are still ships arriving at ports, leading to high levels of inventory for spot petroleum coke at ports.

The operating conditions for graphite electrode and negative electrode companies are not ideal, providing limited support for the low-sulfur coke market. As the pre-baked anode is a necessity for the petroleum coke industry, the expectation is that it will continue to be purchased. The market conditions for the silicon metal and silicon carbide industries remain stagnant.

Demand-side support for the petroleum coke market is weak, and companies are only making purchases based on demand. With the increase in petroleum coke prices, the enthusiasm of downstream companies for accepting shipments is expected to decrease. Next week, it is expected that the main focus for low-sulfur coke prices at primary refineries will be stable operation, while there may be expectations for price increases in middle to high-sulfur petroleum coke, with local refineries seeing mostly stable to downward trends in prices for middle to high-sulfur petroleum coke. Follow us for the daily carbon market reports.