Data from Refractories Window shows: In the first half of May, the base prices for brown fused alumina (BFA) and white fused alumina (WFA) continued to fall, silicon carbide prices trended lower, while other bulk raw material prices operated weakly.

【Fused Alumina】Prices for brown fused alumina and white fused alumina continue to decline.

Brown Fused Alumina (BFA): Market demand for BFA remains weak. Prices for lightly calcined bauxite stayed stable, maintaining strong cost support for BFA production. Pressured by decreasing WFA prices and inventory levels, some BFA producers are willing to reduce prices to stimulate shipments. Given the current market situation, some BFA enterprises have lowered production rates, leading to a decline in furnace operating rates. Overall, limited by cost support, the room for BFA price reductions is relatively constrained.

White Fused Alumina (WFA): Demand for WFA is sluggish, driving prices down consistently. WFA production facilities are operating relatively well overall, maintaining a high production load. On the demand side, most buyers adhere to a procure-as-needed strategy. Within the oversupplied market structure, low-price offers for WFA are frequently observed.

Sintered Alumina: Sintered alumina market prices are temporarily stable. However, spot supply is insufficient. Producers are scheduling production and shipments strictly based on orders, with reports of buyers pressuring for faster delivery.

Industrial Alumina:The industrial alumina market showed stability with a slight upward trend. This development is expected to provide strong support for WFA and sintered alumina prices going forward.

【Bauxite】The bauxite market overall maintained stability.

Bauxite ore prices remain high. The tight supply situation has not been completely alleviated, providing support for bauxite prices.

Due to purchasing ore from multiple sources with varying quality, the specifications of bauxite products also differ, causing several inconveniences for production enterprises.

【Magnesia】Feeble demand creates uncertainty in the magnesia market.

Sintered Magnesia:The sintered magnesia market showed weak performance. Lackluster demand and low purchasing willingness among users resulted in slow overall market shipments. Production enterprises face high inventory levels and increasing sales pressure.

Fused Magnesia: Demand in the fused magnesia market is also unsatisfactory, with low user purchasing enthusiasm. Maintaining high prices for fused magnesia is likely unsustainable.

【Silicon Carbide】 Silicon carbide prices retreated.

Amid soft demand and fierce competition among suppliers, silicon carbide prices have decreased.