Robust demand from overseas consumers of spherical graphite for the production of electric vehicles (EVs) has helped cap the downtrend in Chinese prices in the second half of this year, Fastmarkets heard on the sidelines of the Chinese Graphite Industry Association conference last week.
The price of spherical graphite in China has declined steadily since the start of the year. Fastmarkets' assessment for spherical graphite 99.95% C, 15 microns, fob China has fallen by 11% since the start of the year to $2,500-2,600 per tonne on Thursday October 17, from $2,800-2,900 per tonne on January 3. But growth in the adoption of EVs has managed to slow the downtrend in spherical graphite prices in comparison to those of its feedstock, conference delegates told Fastmarkets during the event in Xiamen, China held on October 15-16. Market participants said that the fall in the spherical graphite price this year was mainly driven by weakness in...