Graphite electrode enterprises current situation and export market analysis

1. Graphite electrode enterprises have reduced production or changed production, and the pressure from supply side is limited

Affected by the poor demand of the current graphite electrode market, in order to avoid the imbalance between supply and demand and maintain a relatively stable price, most graphite electrode enterprises have reduced production, stopped production, or changed the downstream demand, and transferred part of the electrode capacity to the negative electrode to produce graphite crucibles and graphite carbon plates.

With the increase of steel plant production reduction and the fluctuation of graphite electrode raw material prices, graphite electrode enterprises mostly maintain the production reduction state in the wait-and-see mood. Some graphite electrode enterprises have shut down the forming and other processes, and the production mainly consumes semi-finished products. At present, the downstream demand is low, but the graphite electrode enterprises have reduced production and switched production simultaneously, the pressure on the overall market supply side is limited, and the market is mainly a small amount of inventory. Most graphite electrode enterprises told that their inventory pressure was not large. 

2. Graphite electrode exports in July decreased compared with the same period last year

According to customs statistics, in July 2022, China's graphite electrode export volume was 29400 tons, an increase of 14% month-on-month and a decrease of 11% year-on-year; From January to July 2022, China's graphite electrode exports totaled 208100 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 15.93%. In July 2022, China's graphite electrodes were mainly exported to Russia, Kazakhstan and South Korea.

Future forecast: In the short term, the negative impact of low demand from downstream steel plants will continue. In order to stabilize the market, graphite electrode enterprises will continue to reduce production in August, and the market supply is expected to decline. With the reduction of graphite electrode enterprise inventory and social inventory, supply side contraction may be beneficial to graphite electrode future market. However, in the short term, the downstream demand needs time to improve. Therefore, in the short term, graphite electrode price is expected to remain stable or operate at a low level, and the high price resources will drop by 1000 yuan/ton. For more information on the current graphite electrode market analysis, please feel free to contact us.