After the Spring Festival, the mainstream transaction price of China's graphite electrode market continued to fall in February. The prices of regular-power, high-power and ultra-high-power graphite electrodes fell by 19.25%, 18.81% and 18.78%, respectively.
On the one hand, the inventory of graphite electrode enterprises increased. In February, the inventory of China's graphite electrode market increased by 26.63% YoY and 38.06% QoQ. On the other hand, downstream electric furnace steel enterprises were affected by the rain and snow weather and steel prices. In February, the operating rate of electric furnace steel enterprises was significantly reduced compared with the same period, with a minimum value of 6.58%.
At the beginning of March, the downstream electric furnace steel enterprises gradually resumed production, and the operating rate also increased to about 48%. However, it is understood that each electric furnace steel enterprise still has nearly one to two months of inventory, so the enthusiasm for the purchase of graphite electrodes is still weak compared with the same period of the previous year.
In terms of supply, China's graphite electrode output in February was 65,300 tons, down 4.39% from the previous month, and ultra-high power graphite electrode was down 2.16% from the previous month. The main reason was that the operating rate of downstream electric furnace steel enterprises fell sharply in February. The output of graphite electrode enterprises increased by 44.15% YOY, and the ultra-high power graphite electrode increased by 56.11% YOY. The main reason is that the new production capacity was put into production and during the heating season,diffirent production policies were implemented in diffirent enterprises, and the production limit was weakened.
In summary, the price of graphite electrodes in China is at the stage of shocking bottoming. In the case that the operating rate of downstream electric furnace steel enterprises has dropped sharply compared with the same period of the previous year, and while the inventory of graphite electrodes in China has increased, the current graphite electrode market in China is still running weakly, and the sales of various graphite electrode enterprises are constrained.
Affected by the two sessions,from March 2 to March 31, China's graphite electrode production will decrease in March, market inventory will be digested to a certain extent during this period, and the operating rate of electric furnace steel will gradually increase, so China's graphite electrode market will stabilize in the middle and late March. The possibility. According to the same period of the previous year, the operating rate of downstream electric furnace steel enterprises entering April will increase significantly, and China's graphite electrode market will show signs of rebound.
