【Graphite Electrode】2023 Raw Material Market Review

Looking back at China's domestic graphite electrode raw material market, the three major main materials showed an overall trend of strength.

Needle Coke: Following a minor increase in the fourth quarter of 2022, it experienced a continuous decline in 2023. On one hand, needle coke enterprises are still operating, and manufacturers' inventory consumption progress is slow, creating a bearish situation. On the other hand, the prices of coal-based needle coke raw materials and coal tar pitch have decreased, lacking strong cost support. Meanwhile, the downstream negative electrode material market has weakened, with slow consumption of low-priced raw material inventory from the previous period, leading to a slight drop in immediate demand. 

Petroleum Coke: In 2023, the graphite electrode industry showed a weakened trend, with a significant decrease in demand for petroleum coke. Combined with the negative performance of the negative electrode industry, the overall demand for the petroleum coke industry declined. Economic weakness began to gradually impact petroleum coke from the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Coal Tar Pitch: The trend of coal tar pitch in the Hebei market in 2023 reveals an overall increase in the volume of deep processing of coal tar, influenced by the easing of the epidemic. However, factors such as overall poor downstream demand have caused coal tar pitch prices to start declining.

Examining the profit trend in 2023, with market prices as a reference, profits once again showed negative growth. It is evident that graphite electrode manufacturers' profitability outlook is overly pessimistic. Prolonged periods of profit losses are not realistic and have significantly led to the improper development of the graphite electrode industry, rapidly plunging the graphite electrode market into a low period of development. Continue to follow us for more insights on the 2023 graphite electrode market.