[Silicon Metal Price Center Remained in the Doldrums]: This week, the silicon metal market stayed weak, with the transaction center for some silicon metal grades edging lower. As of April 2, SMM east China prices were oxygen-blown #553 silicon at 9,000-9,200 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW; 441# silicon at 9,300-9,400 yuan/mt, down 50 yuan/mt WoW; and 3303# silicon at 10,100-10,300 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW. In the futures market, the most-traded silicon metal contract remained weak, with the SI2605 contract closing at 8,300 yuan/mt on Thursday, down 435 yuan/mt WoW. Spot declines were narrower than futures prices, and the advantage in supplier shipments shifted from silicon enterprises to trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market. During the week, market prices were under pressure, while procurement volume from some downstream users and export traders increased, with transactions in some grades remaining moderate.

[Silicon Metal Market Sees Rising Bargaining Sentiment, Focus on Changes in Supply-Side Operating Rates]: This week, the silicon metal market remained in a bargaining stalemate, with the price center of some specifications edging up slightly. As of March 26, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 9,100-9,300 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt WoW. #441 silicon was at 9,300-9,500 yuan/mt, flat WoW, and #3303 silicon was at 10,200-10,400 yuan/mt, also flat WoW. In the futures market, affected by sentiment and expectations surrounding supply-side factors such as “self-discipline among silicon enterprises and anti-involution,” the most-traded silicon metal contract continued to hold up well over the past week, closing at 8,735 yuan/mt late on Thursday with a notable gain. In terms of quotations, silicon enterprises mostly kept shipment quotes stable, with some quotes testing slight increases; the quote center of trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market rose markedly, and low-priced cargoes disappeared. As downstream acceptance of high prices was limited, high-priced transactions in the market were difficult to conclude.

[Weak Market Sentiment Weighed on Both Spot Silicon Metal and Polysilicon Prices]: This week, the silicon metal market moved lower after a stalemate, with weak market sentiment, some downstream procurement demand released, and cautious trading sentiment. SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon stood at 9,000-9,200 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW. At the beginning of the week, silicon metal market prices remained in a stalemate, while the most-traded contract fluctuated around 8,550-8,750 yuan/mt, with downstream procurement mainly focused on factory cargoes. Later, affected by macro factors and capital sentiment, futures prices declined continuously and closed at 8,285 yuan/mt on Thursday. As spot-futures traders' price advantages became apparent, shipments increased, downstream procurement sentiment diverged, and the market saw transactions based on immediate needs.

[Spot Silicon Metal Prices Probe Higher as Market Transactions Remain Stagnant; Polysilicon Price Trend Declines]: On the supply side, production release from silicon metal capacity that resumed production in early March increased total silicon metal supply compared with early March. Recently, there have been scattered production resumptions in Southwest China, but these have not yet become widespread, so their impact on supply growth has been very limited. On the cost side, spot prices of silicon coal and electrodes have remained temporarily stable recently, while petroleum coke prices rose slightly. Coupled with higher gasoline prices, road transport freight rates were raised slightly, providing relatively strong cost support for silicon metal. On the demand side, performance has mainly remained stable recently. During the week, spot silicon metal transactions were stagnant, inventory in the intermediate segment stayed at a high level, and downstream demand was weak, so silicon metal prices had limited room to rise or fall and were mainly range-bound in consolidation.

[Industrial Silicon Prices Fluctuated; Polysilicon Price Sentiment Was Weak]: This week, the silicon metal market fluctuated significantly on news, falling first and then rising. As of March 5, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 9,000-9,100 yuan/mt, with the transaction center moving down WoW; some suppliers quoted at 9,200 yuan/mt. The futures market fell first and then rose, with large fluctuations; amid disruptions from news such as expectations for Xinjiang electricity prices and environmental protection, futures prices recovered from the bottom. As futures prices rose, trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market raised their quotes accordingly; silicon enterprises held quotes steady or increased them by 100 yuan/mt. Low-priced supply in the market shifted from spot-futures to silicon enterprises, and downstream users purchased as needed, selecting lower-priced offers.

[Post-holiday silicon metal market activity gradually recovers; focus on operating rate changes on both supply and demand sides]: During the first workweek after the Chinese New Year holiday, downstream users of silicon metal mainly inquired about prices, with only small volumes of rigid demand restocking transactions concluded. Trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market quoted prices actively, while silicon enterprises mostly maintained stable offers and adopted a wait-and-see stance compared to pre-holiday levels. As of February 26, SMM oxygen-blown #553 silicon in east China was at 9,200-9,300 yuan/mt, #441 silicon at 9,300-9,500 yuan/mt, and #3303 silicon at 10,200-10,400 yuan/mt. On the export front, overseas users showed active inquiry performance after the holiday, but export order prices remained involutionary. In the futures market, the most-traded contract weakened on Thursday afternoon, closing at 8,335 yuan/mt at the end of the session. Throughout the week, the most-traded contract moved within a range of 8,330-8,495 yuan/mt. Most silicon enterprises maintained strong wait-and-see sentiment with stable offers, while futures consolidated at lows and trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market quoted actively, resulting in on-demand transactions in the market.

[Silicon Metal Prices Consolidate, Polysilicon Enterprises Raise Offers]: Spot silicon metal prices were mostly stable this week, with slight increases for some grades. Futures price fluctuations widened, and the most-traded contract trended lower on Thursday, dragged down by macro and capital sentiment. As of February 5, SMM oxygen-blown #553 silicon in east China was at 9,300-9,400 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt WoW; #441 silicon was at 9,400-9,600 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt WoW; and #3303 silicon was at 10,200-10,500 yuan/mt, flat WoW. In the futures market, the most-traded contract moved erratically, trending downward on Thursday, with the weekly high at 9,010 yuan/mt and the low at 8,600 yuan/mt. After the futures decline, some buy orders from traders and downstream users were executed.

[Spot Silicon Metal Prices Consolidate, Polysilicon Price Center Weakens]: This week, spot silicon metal prices consolidated. In the spot market, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was priced at 8,000-8,300 yuan/mt, unchanged WoW. #441 silicon was priced at 8,400-8,600 yuan/mt, unchanged WoW. #421 silicon was priced at 8,400-9,000 yuan/mt, unchanged WoW. In the futures market, the main silicon metal contract Si2507 fluctuated considerably around 7,300-7,550 yuan/mt. Futures prices rose by approximately 200-300 yuan/mt WoW. After the futures market rose, spot-futures price spread quotes remained stable, with absolute prices increasing WoW. There was a strong sentiment among downstream buyers of silicon metal to drive down prices, and their acceptance of high prices was poor. The availability of low-priced cargoes in the market decreased, and the transaction center for some specifications moved higher WoW.

[Silicon Metal Prices Narrow Decline, Market Trading Sentiment Remains Subdued]: The market price of silicon metal continued to weaken, but the decline narrowed significantly compared to the previous period. In the futures market, the main silicon metal contract fluctuated considerably during the week. The Si2507 contract reached a high of 7,330 yuan/mt and a low of 6,990 yuan/mt during the week. On June 5, the main contract closed at 7,135 yuan/mt, down 80 yuan/mt or 1% WoW, with the decline narrowing. In the spot market, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was priced at 8,000-8,300 yuan/mt, down 300 yuan/mt WoW, while #441 silicon was priced at 8,400-8,600 yuan/mt, also down 300 yuan/mt WoW. After the futures market declined, some silicon suppliers gradually followed suit with lower quotes, but most producers, facing significant losses, could not suspend quoting. On Wednesday, the futures market rebounded nearly 3%, but the sentiment in the silicon market remained lackluster, with few downstream users showing a "rush to buy amid continuous price rise" restocking sentiment.

[Silicon Metal Main Contract Falls to 7,200 yuan/mt, with Moderate Spot and Futures Market Turnover]: Silicon metal market prices continued to decline, with prices extending their downward trend this week. In the futures market, the lowest point of the silicon metal main contract during the week fell to 7,200 yuan/mt. On May 29, the Si2507 contract closed at 7,215 yuan/mt, down 665 yuan/mt WoW, representing an 8.4% decline. In the spot market, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was priced at 8,400-8,500 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan/mt WoW; #441 silicon was priced at 8,700-8,900 yuan/mt, down 250 yuan/mt WoW; and #421 silicon was priced at 8,900-9,300 yuan/mt, down 400 yuan/mt WoW. Silicon metal futures prices fell sharply, and the spot-futures price spread quoted by futures-to-spot traders rose, but the absolute price remained significantly lower than that quoted by silicon enterprises. During the week, downstream buyers and traders predominantly engaged in spot transactions with pricing based on a fixed price.