SteelMint has heard from its sources that the needle coke prices in China are set to move up in the coming weeks as many plants are set to undergo their plant maintenance.
One such major needle coke manufacturer that is set to start its maintenance work is Baowu Carbon which is a part of the renowned Baowu Steel Group. The plant will start its overhaul work for next 40 days starting from 25 April. Although, the plant has assured no disruption in needle coke supply in the country, the domestic needle coke prices have risen by RMB 500 per tonne (USD 74/MT) and are currently trending at RMB 21,500/MT (USD 3,200 – 3,250/MT).
When the graphite electrodes prices starting their plunge in Nov’18, its impact on needle coke prices was not seen immediately. However, after a few months when the dramatic downfall in GE prices continued amid poor downstream demand, the needle coke prices also came under pressure and started falling. In the time span of just two months, the domestic needle coke prices in China fell by RMB 10,000-12,000/MT (USD 1,490 – 1,786/MT).
However, now when the Chinese needle coke plants are going for maintenance, it is likely that the domestic graphite electrodes prices in China that have turned stable in last two weeks might move up slightly.
At present the export offers of Chinese UHP grade GE of size 450mm is trending at RMB 38,000-40,000 (USD 5,660 – 5,950/MT) and that of 600mm is trending at RMB 68,000 – 70,000/MT (USD 10,100 – 10,400/MT).
With the upturn in GE demand in China amid supply-side structural change, the needle coke manufacturers in the country also invested in plant establishment and expansion. Subsequently, needle coke supplies also increased in China. As per the industry participants, China is likely to have a needle coke capacity of 0.96 MnT by 2020.
While domestic prices in China have plunged over the past few months, imported needle coke prices continue to remain high at USD 4,500 – 4,600/MT.
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