China’s graphite electrode market turned temporarily stable this week with producers slowly resuming their work amid epidemic being brought under control. According to the market sources, there is no major movement in the domestic GE prices given the soft downstream demand and electrodes market being not fully operational.
The current prices of HP grade electrodes of size 450mm are being heard in the range of RMB 11,000 – 12,000/MT whereas that of UHP grade electrodes of size 600mm are in the range of RMB 27,000 – 29,000/MT.
While graphite electrode prices are temporarily stable, the current steel mills are affected by the market and there are not many transactions. If there is no obvious improvement in the downstream side, it is going to negatively affect the graphite electrodes prices.
In terms of raw materials, according to an electrode manufacturer, the price of petroleum coke has risen some time ago, but it had little effect on the electrode market and price. At present, the high price of petroleum coke has been reduced, and it is expected that it will not have a large impact on the electrode market in the future.
Electrification of Baofang Carbon’s GE production line completed
Amid the epidemic chaos in the country, few GE players are trying hard to accomplish their plans as per the scheduled timeline.
Last week, the 110 kV Xinzhuang-Ping’an power grid project started operation marking the successful electrification of Baofang’s Carbon GE production line located in Honggu Park, Lanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone.
Baofang Carbon Material Technology is a joint venture between Baosteel Group and Fangda Carbon. It is scheduled to start operation in Lanzhou in 2020 with 100,000 tonne capacity of UHP grade electrodes per year.
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