This week the market didn’t pick up during the peak season. Small- and medium-sized manufacturers of polysilicon have begun to consider overhauling and reducing production to deal with prices which were lower than the cost. For si-wafer, production reduction measures have been adopted, and the general operating rate was less than half. For PV cell and module markets, the first-tier manufacturers reached full capacity, while the second- and third-tier manufacturers operated in a build-to-order environment. All enterprises were finding their own way of survival. Overall, this sluggish condition will continue into November.
Polysilicon
Overall polysilicon price continued to be depressed this week, with the verdict for orders of November still being postponed in order to deal with the changes, reflecting the pessimistic attitude of the market towards end demand in the end of the year. In terms of price, supply and demand were roughly balanced and prices were supported by weekly turnover orders and inventory removal. Overseas polysilicon price continued to fall, making the gap between domestic and overseas prices become smaller. So far, the market price has been close to the cost of first-tier manufacturers. Second- and third-tier manufacturers can only barely maintain their businesses, and some are even starting to produce at a loss. Some of them may also have to restart maintenance and overhaul in order to avoid losses. So far, domestic multi-si material price has reached RMB74-82/KG, with the average price falling to RMB76/KG. Mono-si material price has been RMB80-86/KG, with an unchanged average price of RMB84/KG. Overseas price has remained at USD9.0-10.2/KG, with an unchanged average price of USD9.8/KG.
Si-wafer
Si-wafer price was still weak this week. The operating rate of multi-si wafer manufacturers was less than 50%, and second- and third-tier manufacturers were lower. Thus, although the demand was depressed, due to flat inventory level, there was no collapse in price. Most si-wafer manufacturers held the mentality of not working at a loss. In addition, last week, the price reduction of mono-si wafer has been completed.
So far, domestic mono-si price has remained at RMB3.00-3.20/Pc, and multi-si price has dropped to RMB2.07-2.15/Pc. Black silicon product price has decreased to RMB2.20/Pc. Overseas mono-si price has declined to USD0.380-0.390/Pc, with the average price falling to USD0.381/Pc. Multi-si price has dropped to USD0.263-0.270/Pc, with the average price falling to USD0.269/Pc. Black silicon product price has been lowered to USD0.310/Pc.
PV cell
There was demand but weak transaction prices in some PV cell markets this week. The first-tier manufacturers still reached full capacity, while the second- and third-tier manufacturers operated in a build-to-order environment. Owing to the drop of solar power prices or possible changes in subsidy policies in some European countries, it could boost PV cell demand in November.
This week, overall PV cell price remained unchanged. Domestic general mono-si price has been RMB1.00-1.06/W. High-efficiency mono-si price has been RMB1.12-1.17/W. Ultra-high efficiency mono-si (>21.5%) price has remained at RMB1.16-1.22/W. General multi-si PV cell price has been RMB0.80-0.85/W. Overseas general mono-si price has remained at USD0.123-0.129/W. High-efficiency mono-si price has been USD0.142-0.165/W. Ultra-high efficiency mono-si (>21.5%) price has remained at USD0.148-0.168/W. Multi-si price has remained at USD0.102-0.133/W. Double-sided PV cell price has remained at RMB1.20-1.30/W.
Module
The module market this week was similar to the PV cell. Because there was no obvious demand and the trend was unpredictable, most dealers operated in a build-to-order environment. Therefore, the overall price this week didn’t change. Domestic general multi-si (270-275W) price has remained at RMB1.75-1.85/W. High-efficiency multi-si (280-285W) price has remained at RMB1.80-1.93/W. General mono-si (290-295W) price has remained at RMB1.83-1.96/W. High-efficiency mono-si (300-305W) price has remained at RMB2.12-2.20/W. Ultra-high efficiency mono-si (>310W) price has remained at above RMB2.20/W. Overseas general multi-si price has been USD0.218-0.290/W. High-efficiency multi-si price has remained at USD0.220-0.280/W. General mono-si price has remained at USD0.246-0.370/W. High-efficiency mono-si price has remained at USD0.265-0.395/W.