Raw Material Costs Drive Up Prices of Graphitized Carbon Additives

Supply and Demand Analysis

1. Supply Side: Cost Support with Upward Expectations

The overall petroleum coke market currently exhibits a weak but stable trend, specifically manifested as follows:

The average price of petroleum coke from major refineries stands at 3,049 yuan/ton, down 15 yuan/ton from the previous trading day; Prices in the independent refinery market fluctuated, with overall shipments remaining moderate. The average price stood at 2,258 yuan/ton, down 17 yuan/ton from the previous trading day; Port coke shipments remained steady, with some US high-sulfur coke quotations rising due to limited inventory. Regarding downstream demand, demand for aluminum carbon and anode materials remains acceptable, silicon carbide demand persists, while graphite electrode demand is only moderate. Overall, main refinery petroleum coke prices are expected to remain largely stable. Some cost-effective coke prices from local refineries may see slight upward pressure, providing some upward momentum for graphitized carbon additive prices.

2. Demand Side: Generally Stable, Peak Season Demand Yet to Be Validated

Based on data from 23 sample steel mills in Tangshan: On September 1, blast furnace capacity utilization dropped to 74.62%, a significant decline of 14.21% from August 27. Despite the decline in blast furnace operation rates, demand for graphitized carbon additives remained largely unaffected and stable overall. The traditional peak season demand in the steel market has yet to be effectively validated, and downstream steel mills' actual procurement demand for carbon additives has not shown significant fluctuations.

Overall, if raw material prices continue to rise, some small and medium-sized carbon additive producers may face squeezed production profits or even losses due to cost pressures, potentially leading them to reduce or halt production, thereby reducing market supply. With relatively stable demand, the combination of “rising costs + supply contraction” will further fuel upward momentum for carbon additive prices.