Raw material costs are rising! Strong downstream demand, needle coke prices are expected to rise
On March 29, 2024, China's needle coke market prices were temporarily stable. The market price range of Baichuan Yingfu's domestic needle coke is 4800-5200 yuan/ton for raw coke and 6500-8000 yuan/ton for cooked coke; the mainstream transaction price of imported oil-based needle coke is 450-1150 US dollars/ton for raw coke and 800-8000 yuan for cooked coke. The mainstream transaction price of imported coal needle coke and cooked coke is 600-850 US dollars/ton. The average market price of Baichuan Yingfu's domestic needle coke is 7,479 yuan/ton, which is stable compared with the previous working day. Today, China's needle coke market is mainly operating stably. From a cost perspective, raw material prices are still rising strongly. Oil-based needle coke companies generally report that cost pressure is high. Although raw coke prices have slightly pushed up, most of them have been driven up by raw material prices. The price increase has been offset, so in the short term, the high cost of oil-based needle coke is difficult to change; coal-based needle coke is currently in a state of loss, and the price of coal pitch has stopped falling and returned to rising, and the production pressure of coal-based needle coke has further increased.
Oil slurry: On March 29, international crude oil prices closed with a wide increase, boosted by good news. However, midstream and downstream companies still maintained their rigid demand for purchases. The industry's market sentiment was more cautious. Refinery shipments were mixed. It is expected that oil slurry will be sold today. Prices are generally stable, and individual companies may adjust prices according to their own circumstances.
Coal asphalt: The focus of transactions in the coal asphalt market has increased. Coal asphalt quotations in the main production areas are temporarily quoted at 5,600-5,800 yuan/ton for acceptance ex-factory, and the market's actual orders may be higher. The cost side of coal asphalt has strong support this week, and coal asphalt manufacturers have taken advantage of the trend to increase their quotations, with the reference range of 150-300 yuan/ton, and the specific actual orders still need to be followed up. In addition, it is understood that the current downstream acceptance is acceptable. Under the atmosphere of "buying up but not buying down", the trading atmosphere in the coal pitch market is expected to continue to heat up today.
Graphite electrode: Graphite electrode companies are in normal production and operations are basically stable. Production is based on orders and there will be no backlog of inventory. However, due to the impact of low-price resources on the market and downstream price pressures, individual graphite electrode companies have low willingness to ship, so they ship with long-term orders. Mainly goods, downstream demand is not good, the graphite electrode market is weak.
Anode materials: Judging from market feedback, end-use new energy vehicle companies continue to cut prices to stimulate consumption, which has led to a slight increase in the number of inquiries and orders for anode materials from downstream battery companies. The anode material market has gradually picked up, and due to the end market's demand for high-end The demand for anode materials has picked up significantly, and anode material companies have recently increased their purchases of raw material needle coke.
The market prices of upstream raw material oil slurry and coal pitch are rising, which has provided certain support to the price of needle coke. At the same time, the demand for downstream anode materials is strong, and procurement and inquiry operations are frequent. It is expected that the market price of needle coke will mainly rise in the short term. Next The price range for needle coke on working days is 6,500-8,100 yuan/ton for cooked coke and 4,900-5,300 yuan/ton for raw coke.