In a new weekly update pv magazineOPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick overview of the most important price trends in the global solar industry.
Not immune to this weakness, but also the lesser-sold M6 wafers fell 5.17% to $0.624/pc. Prices for Mono G1 wafers remain unchanged at $0.666/pc, while its trade remains subdued as its market share shrinks.
This week’s market research was dominated by discussion of the motivation and implications of Zhonghuan’s latest move – a significant price cut of around 15%. According to several sources, Zhonghuan is trying to increase its market share by undercutting its main competitor, LONG. By dropping G12 prices more heavily than M10 prices, Zhonghuan appears to be paving the way for G12 wafers to increase their share of the overall wafer market, the source added.
While other smaller wafer makers were surprised by the speed with which the market leader had cut prices, it is “reasonable”, according to a market participant, who believes the price cuts are in line with the cumulative effect of the decline in domestic Chinese polysilicon prices over the previous months.
As polysilicon prices continue to fall as raw material production increases, OPIS expects wafer prices to continue to fall in the near future, paving the way for lower prices at the downstream end.
OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from the Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly report.
