Petroleum Coke: Market Trend Remains Stable, Coke Prices Mainly Stable with Narrow Fluctuations
**Petroleum Coke: Market Trend Remains Stable, Coke Prices Mainly Stable with Narrow Fluctuations**
**Market Overview**
**On December 29th, the average market price for petroleum coke was 2,988 RMB/ton, up by 3 RMB/ton compared to the previous working day, an increase of 0.1%.** The petroleum coke market trend was relatively stable today. The prices at major refineries held steady, with market transactions primarily driven by demand-based purchasing. Trading activity at independent local refineries was mixed, with some coke prices experiencing adjustments upward or downward.
Major Regional Market Transaction Prices
**Sinopec** refineries operated on a demand-based supply model. Along the Yangtze River, Anqing Petrochemical and Hunan Petrochemical primarily supplied anode material enterprises, while other refineries sold both carbon anode grade coke and anode material grade coke. In North China, Shijiazhuang Refinery and Yanshan Petrochemical mainly supplied anode grade coke. In South China, Guangzhou Petrochemical primarily produced #3B and #4B coke, while Beihai Refinery maintained steady shipments of #4A coke. In East China, Jinling Petrochemical mainly produced energy storage grade coke, and Yangzi Petrochemical supplied high-sulfur coke based on demand.
**CNPC (PetroChina)** refineries in Northeast China saw steady petroleum coke shipments, with downstream buyers procuring according to their needs, maintaining stable market activity. In North China, Dagang Petrochemical executed a new round of auction sales today, with expectations of a slight increase in transaction prices. In Southwest China, Yunnan Petrochemical is expected to resume production and output coke in mid-January.
**CNOOC** refineries shipped products based on orders received.
**Independent Local Refineries:** The market for petroleum coke from independent local refineries showed diverging shipment performances, with coke prices from different refineries moving in both directions. Today, the average market price in Shandong province was 2,505 RMB/ton, down by 15 RMB/ton compared to the previous working day, a decrease of 0.59%. As the month end approached, downstream enterprises purchased cautiously, limiting refineries' shipments. Consequently, some coke prices fell by 10-80 RMB/ton. Meanwhile, coke with relatively better cost-performance ratios saw decent shipments, with prices rising by 20-120 RMB/ton. Notable market changes today: The sulfur content of petroleum coke from Shandong Xintai Petrochemical increased to around 4.8%; the sulfur content of petroleum coke from Shandong Wantong Petrochemical increased to around 3.3%, with vanadium content rising to around 480 PPM, and the latest quoted price was 2,420 RMB/ton.
**Imported Coke:** Port inventories of petroleum coke are being digested slowly. Quotations for low-sulfur sponge coke saw slight downward adjustments, while inquiries for high-sulfur sponge coke have increased recently.
**Supply**
As of December 29th, there were 16 instances of delayed coking units undergoing shutdowns for maintenance nationwide. The national daily petroleum coke output was 86,640 tons. The delayed coking operating rate was 67.87%, an increase of 0.24% compared to the previous working day.
**Demand**
Downstream aluminum anode and anode material enterprises maintain some procurement demand for petroleum coke. The market demand for silicon carbide remains weak, leading to average procurement for the petroleum coke market. The overall market for graphite electrodes is sluggish, with soft demand performance, resulting in demand-based procurement for raw material petroleum coke.
**Future Market Forecast**
Currently, downstream demand for petroleum coke procurement persists, but a predominantly cautious sentiment prevails, offering limited positive support to the petroleum coke market. Therefore, **BaiChuan Info-Future predicts that tomorrow, petroleum coke market prices will largely remain stable, with partial coke prices from independent local refineries undergoing minor adjustments following market conditions.**