Based on OilChem's data, China's needle coke supply totaled 521,100 tonnes in the first half of 2024, down 9.53% year-on-year, while the combined consumption reached 466,200 tonnes, up 0.67% year-on-year, which led to narrowing supply and demand gap.
Needle Coke Supply and Demand Balance in H1 2023 and 2024 (Unit: '000 tonnes)
| Item | H1 2023 | H1 2024 | Chg | YoY |
| Production | 496.60 | 435.40 | -61.20 | -12.32% |
| Imports | 79.40 | 85.70 | 6.30 | 7.93% |
| Total Supply | 576.00 | 521.10 | -54.90 | -9.53% |
| Exports | 11.50 | 13.40 | 1.90 | 16.52% |
| Apparent Consumption | 564.50 | 507.70 | -56.80 | -10.06% |
Source: OilChem
As shown in the above chart, although needle coke imports were predicted to have reached 85,700 tonnes in the first 6 months of the year, up 7.93% from last year, the production of needle coke totaled 435,400 tonnes in the first half, down 12.32% from a year ago, leading to a decline in needle coke supply. In the face of cost pressure, the coal-based needle coke enterprises mostly stopped the production or changed to produce pitch coke, and other oil-based needle coke enterprises shut down units for maintenance, which resulted in the fall in production.
China Needle Coke Production
Source: OilChem
However, thanks to the demand from graphite electrode and lithium battery anode material fields, the two major consumption fields, the consumption of needle coke hit 466,200 tonnes in the first half, up 0.67% year-on-year. The consumption from graphite electrode field accounted for 37.82% of the total, and that from lithium battery anode material field occupied 62.18%, according to OilChem.
OilChem predicts that the capacity utilization rate of anode material enterprises might be 60% in July, down 16.69 percentage points from June, which will drag down the production. Therefore, the demand for needle coke from anode material market is estimated to weaken in July.
Written by Catherine Sun, sss@oilchem.net
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
