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| Author | InfoLink |
| Updated | July 27, 2017 |
It’s like yesterday when demand cooled down in Q3 last year. Polysilicon makers took turn to conduct equipment maintenance, leading to much lower supplies. The average trading price of polysilicon dropped below RMB 100/kg in China, but soon the price rebound immediately in October.
It’s that time for polysilicon makers to conduct equipment maintenance again this August. Top-tier polysilicon makers in China and the overseas have started to do so. The polysilicon market is expecting to witness sharp decline in supply again from August to September. But what’s different from last year is that: 1) some power plants that have connected to the grid before June 30th are still trying to finish up with the installation. 2) Some power plants have to complete the construction before September 30th. 3) The “Section 201” has made many countries rush to ship to the US. Therefore, polysilicon will be in short supply in the short run, leading to higher prices recently.
Poly Price
Most of the polysilicon orders for August have been confirmed. Polysilicon manufacturers have begun to negotiate orders for September. The average trading price of polysilicon has increased to RMB 128-130/kg. The sharp rise in prices drove up polysilicon prices in the overseas. It’s expected that the Chinese polysilicon prices will increase further.
Wafer Price
The sharp rise in polysilicon prices has made the wafer market difficult to lower prices. This week, the average trading price of multi-Si wafers for August is being announced, mostly staying flat from July, reaching RMB 4.9/piece. However, the overseas prices slightly increased following the lower utilization rates for Taiwanese wafer makers and the appreciation of the RMB against USD.
Cell Price
The average trading price of multi-Si cells remained flat at RMB 1.8-1.83/W in China. Due to the rise in wafer prices, Taiwanese makers hope to slightly increase cell prices. The current cell price of US$ 0.23-0.233/W together with the module manufacturing costs have squeezed module profits in Taiwan, leading to limited price increase.
The average trading price of conventional mono-Si cells reached RMB 1.9/W this week. Demand of conventional mono-Si is still the weakest among all PV cell products, and thus future prices may decline further.
Module Price
For modules, the price rise is higher than the anticipation in the US market. Some conventional multi-Si module is priced over US$ 0.4/W. The price of mono-Si PERC modules has reached more than US$ 0.45/W. The Chinese market saw chaotic pricing for modules, with this week’s prices slightly dropping. But as strong demand continues and manufacturers are optimistic about Q3, module prices have slowly turned stable, resulting in slower decline in prices.