Chinese silicon export prices bounced back up on Friday April 27 on rising domestic quotations, while European assessments were unchanged week on week.
Metal Bulletin's Chinese grade 553 silicon metal export price moved up to $1,900-1,950 per tonne on Friday, up from $1,880-1,950 per tonne a week earlier. Domestic quotations from Chinese silicon refineries rose about 100-200 yuan ($15.79-31) per tonne over the past week, according to market participants. But sluggish demand from overseas buyers is expected to cap any further gains in the near term. Japanese traders, who are the largest purchasers of Chinese silicon metal, have minimized their procurements as a result of weakened downstream demand in the aluminium alloy sector. Silicon is used in the production of aluminium alloy. "The automobile sector in Japan hasn't been performing well in the second quarter so far, and therefore the pace of purchasing by secondary aluminium alloy producers has slowed down," a...