China's needle coke price has presented a downward trend since 2023, and the needle coke plants have had to lower their offers since November facing with sluggish downstream demand.
China Needle Coke Prices
Source: OilChem
Based on OilChem's data, the prices of oil-based green needle coke fell to Yuan 5,000-5,300/t on December 8, that of oil-based calcined needle coke declined to Yuan 7,000-8,500/t, that of coal-based green needle coke dropped to Yuan 5,200-5,300/t, and that of coal-based calcined needle coke slipped to Yuan 7,000-8,500/t. The sluggish downstream demand and lower prices of alternative petcoke contributed to the price decrease.
China Low-sulfur Petcoke Prices
Source: OilChem
Low-sulfur petcoke prices went lower on oversupply, making it a better feedstock choice for downstream enterprises rather than needle coke, which resulted in a flagging demand for needle coke. Furthermore, the falling orders from downstream anode material manufacturers and weakening consumption of needle coke from downstream graphite electrode market also led to a decline in needle coke prices, according to OilChem.
Chine Needle Coke Market Sentiment
Source: OilChem
It can be seen from the above chart that, 5% of market players held bullish sentiment towards needle coke prices, due to rising cost of needle coke and potential improvement in demand from graphite electrode market. 30% of them believed the needle coke prices might remain stable, while 65% held bearish sentiment, on account of fewer orders and higher in-plant inventory.
Written by Catherine Sun, sss@oilchem.net
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
