Needle Coke Report Ⅳ：

February 2023 Demand Side Analysis

Demand: needle coke demand is weak

1. Apparent consumption: As the data of the General Administration of Customs has not been updated, import data/export data will not be analyzed this month.

In December 2022, the apparent consumption of China's needle coke market was 113500 tons, an increase of 13.5% from the previous month,  and the cumulative apparent consumption from January to December was 1399000 tons.

Apparent consumption of needle coke in China

2. Negative electrode: negative electrode material is in the off-season

In February, negative material market prices fell. The mid-end products market prices was reduced from 50000  to 45000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 10%; The low-end products market price was reduced from 30000  to 26000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 13.33%.

On the supply side, negative electrode material production enterprises resumed production. The operating rate of enterprises was at the annual low level, but has increased compared with that of last month. The output in February was 14.76% higher than that in January.

On the demand side, the downstream demand was average. The orders in the second quarter are being negotiated in succession. The current market is still in the low consumption season. Most enterprises report that it still takes time to recover the downstream demand. The market fluctuates little in the short term. The price depends on the implementation of the orders in the second quarter.

As the market price has fallen, the profit per ton is not as good as last month. It is expected that after the market demand recovers in the second quarter, production and profitability are expected to improve.

3. Graphite electrode: the graphite electrode market price is under pressure

Data source: OilChem China 

This month, the graphite electrode market price was reduced by 500-1000 yuan/ton, of which, the ultra-high power 600mm was 25000 yuan/ton, the high power 500mm was 21000 yuan/ton, and the regular power 500mm was 17500 yuan/ton. This month, the operating rate of terminal electric arc furnace steelmaking gradually recovered from the shutdown after the holiday,rising from single digit to more than 60% of the operating level, driven by this the graphite electrode overall production load slightly increased. However, due to low terminal price and low production profit, graphite electrode enterprises cannot be motivated to increase their enthusiasm for production. Learn about the needle coke market follow-up reports, welcome to continue to follow us.