In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.
Free-On-Board (FOB) China cell prices rose sharply this week, supported by firmer upstream pricing and stronger export buying.
According to the OPIS Global Solar Markets Report released on Aug. 18, FOB China TOPCon M10 cell prices rose 13.09% week on week to $0.0458/W, while FOB China TOPCon 210R cell prices increased 12.03% to $0.0447/W.
Upstream prices also strengthened as market sentiment improved following a series of policy and industry developments in China. On Aug. 7, eight major polysilicon producers, representing more than 90% of China’s effective capacity, pledged to stop selling below full cost and phase out inefficient capacity.
According to market participants, the pledge weakened expectations of further upstream price declines, providing additional support for cell producers to defend higher prices. The shift in upstream pricing expectations has also supported higher wafer prices, creating more direct cost pressure for cell manufacturers.
