Silicon metal highlights

摘要

US silicon metal prices have been locked in the current range amid thin trading conditions and improved material flows due to sustained offers of cheaper imported Brazilian material. Demand for spot metal has softened as most consumers are using contracted deliveries and are reluctant to build stocks in a bid to increase their cash-flow. The European spot silicon metal market has extended stability through April from the month before amid low-key, but regular, buying interest, notably from the chemicals sector. Additional support has come from a small increase in demand from the metallurgical sector, and overall we see the market fairly steady through the middleof the second quarter. Much of the uptick in metallurgical demand has come from the car sector, which is benefiting from an upsurge in demand in Asia, particularly China. Demand in high-grade applications, such as solar and electronics, however, has been more subdued, if not outright weak. Any attempts to push up silicon metal prices in the near term may well be stymied until those sectors see a much stronger recovery. The Chinese silicon metal market has edged down due to slow demand. Domestic capacity utilisation rates have been low in recent weeks due to slow trading.