The delay to the US solar trade case could further increase PV prices, which are already on the up due to high demand, according to consultancy firm EnergyTrend.
The US department of commerce pushed back its anti-subsidy ruling from 28 March to 2 June. According to EnergyTrend, Chinese manufacturers are now looking to take advantage of this period to sell stock into the US.
“Current market supply and demand is in good shape. Demand from March to May is rather stable. Also, the June demand forecast has started to show after the US announced the delay. Manufacturers, such as Trina, Yingli, Renesola, and CSI have aggressively placed orders and sold the products to the US market,” said Arthur Hsu, research manager, EnergyTrend.
The company’s latest report expect Q2 2014 polysilicon prices of US$25/kg and Taiwanese manufacturers’ high-efficiency cell price in excess of US$0.42.
EnergyTrend has tracked rising prices in the early part of the year. A previous assessment in January had predicted cell prices under the US$0.42 mark for February and a US$25/kg polysilicon price was given as the upper limit for the month.