PVinsights: Soaring Capacity and Inventories Causing Worry about Threats to the Solar Markets
Polysilicon prices tumbled to new lows this week as the increasing inventories raised concerns about worsening oversupply, while buyers expected high-than-expected supply growth after the biggest Chinese polysilicon supplier, on schedule, initiated the production from its newly added capacity and expanded another new factory later this year.
Polysilicon prices tumbled to new lows this week as the increasing inventories raised concerns about worsening oversupply, while buyers expected high-than-expected supply growth after the biggest Chinese polysilicon supplier, on schedule, initiated the production from its newly added capacity and expanded another new factory later this year. While polysilicon consumers had been reserving judgment for the past few months, they now perceive negative developments on several dimensions, expressing worries that demand, supply, and capacity expansion may all be moving in an unfavorable direction in the year ahead. While polysilicon consumers had been reserving judgment for the past few months, they recently perceived the negative developments on many dimensions, expressing worries that demand, supply, and capacity expansion may all be moving in an unfavorable direction in the year ahead.
N-type mono-crystalline wafer prices posted declines and recorded new lows this week as consumers fatigued from overcapacity bought fewer wafers amid the rising in-house capacity and high inventories. Mono-crystalline wafer prices drifted lower Wednesday in the absence of market catalysts to support prices, selling off from April high inventories after players priced in the oversupply risks as the market share eroded.
N-type mono-crystalline cell prices reported a fall this week after lower-than-expected module production data posted stark contrasts to high inventories and production on cells, as players turned to whether upcoming solar module purchase delays could add pressure on solar module makers to keep tapering cell purchases. Mono-crystalline PERC cell prices sank on Wednesday along with the mainstream products, N-type mono-crystalline cells, as a sharp market slowdown in China presaged a tough demand environment and the unceasing solar wafer price collapse scare battered solar market more broadly.
N-type mono-crystalline module prices recorded new lows on Wednesday amid the inventory selloffs, as the declining silicon material dueled rooms for price competition after weaker-than-expected demand growth in China stoked concerns over market recovery. A low percentage of solar project developers believe now is a good time to buy solar modules, with worries about surging supply and decreasing solar module prices on the market weighing on downbeat market sentiment about the demand recovery in the coming months. Market confidence at Chinese solar module manufacturers worsened in May and is unlikely to change much over the next month, as demand slowdown in major markets is hurting players.