Solar panel prices stay flat this week. Although the demand in China is still solid, the installation works have slowed down as the Lunar New Year approaches. Moreover, the CNY has recently stabilized against the USD. Therefore, the solar panel price in China remains immobile in this week as the level of transaction slows down and the currency depreciation has temporarily ceased.

Solar panel prices stay flat this week. Although the demand in China is still solid, the installation works have slowed down as the Lunar New Year approaches. Moreover, the CNY has recently stabilized against the USD. Therefore, the solar panel price in China remains immobile in this week as the level of transaction slows down and the currency depreciation has temporarily ceased. Regarding solar panel price in the U.S., the price downtrend caused by the price competition between Chinese module makers has discontinued this week. Because the cost of the upstream components continues to rise, it limits the scope for further price reduction as solar module makers struggle to maintain their profit margin. Hence, the solar panel price has stabilized in the U.S. market as Chinese module makers toned down the strategic pricing competition. Similarly, the solar panel prices in Japan, Europe and emerging countries is flat in this week as the rising cost limits the price downtrend. As a result, because the increasing cost of upstream components limits the price downtrend and the level of transactions slows down as lunar New Year approaches, the solar panel price remains stable in this week.

Both multi-crystalline and mono-crystalline cell prices stand still this week as buyers have no more tolerance for further price hike. As the solar panel prices are stable or decreasing slightly, solar panel makers are having less margin to accept further price improvements of solar cells. Moreover, the level of transactions also slows down as the Chinese New Year approaches. Hence, the price of multi-crystalline cell stays flat this week. The price of mono-crystalline cells is also unmoving this week. Although the demand of mono-crystalline cell has greatly improved in China, it was not strong enough to further lift the price. Furthermore, with the fragile demand on overseas markets and slower demand in Chinese market as holiday approaches, the mono-crystalline cell price cannot find any leverage point to engage in some price hike.

Multi-crystalline wafer prices have stabilized this week, while mono-crystalline wafer prices fall incrementally driven by low demand outside China. The multi-crystalline wafer market leader GCL-Poly has published its price quote for February, a number that has indexing value for its competitors, and is rising its prices only very marginally both inside and outside the Chinese market. As the scope of increase is smaller than expected, the new prices are taken as a sign that multi-crystalline wafer prices have reached a peak level, and will have difficulties increasing further. Although some suppliers still try to raise their price quotes, buyer acceptance is low, especially as demand volume is slightly lower now that the Chinese New Year holiday period approaches. As a result, multi-crystalline wafer prices are flat this week. Mono-crystalline wafer has seen a surge in demand in China, which is unfortunately not copied by the sluggish demand in markets outside China. Although demand is on the rise, mono-crystalline wafer prices are flat in China, notably thanks to market-leader Longi offering stable prices to its strategic partners. Outside China, as the demand has shown little sign of rebounding, suppliers are still under pressure to further reduce their selling prices. As a result, overall mono-crystalline prices are still decreasing marginally this week.

Polysilicon prices continue to drop marginally this week. As the Chinese New Year holidays approach, the transaction volumes are now less important, and most buyers are waiting until after the holidays to restart price negotiations. Nonetheless, significant reduction in inventories levels has lessened the pressure on Chinese manufacturers, who have stopped offering very low-priced products and are even attempting to increase price quotes. As transaction volumes are low at current moment, the spot polysilicon prices in China remain flat this week. As the supply on the market is still more than sufficient, attempts at raising prices are hardly successful. Meanwhile in market outside China, the oversupply situation is still serious due to the trade barriers in China, and the spot prices are pressurized to reduce further. American polysilicon is notably under pressure to reduce its prices, which in turns affect the overall spot market. As a result, overall spot polysilicon prices continue to be descending this week due to oversupply, although the margin of decrease is very limited in parts due to the slower market activities.