Silicon Metal 441 VS 553 Prices On November 4, 2026?

China's export silicon metal market quoted five benchmark grades for the November 4, 2026 session, all on the same terms - FOB Huangpu, USD per tonne - and none of them moved against the previous session. The published ranges ran from USD 1,320-1,340 per tonne for grade 553 at the bottom to USD 1,980-2,030 per tonne for grade 2202 at the top. Only grade 2202 was quoted above USD 1,500, and the distance between the cheapest and the dearest quote was USD 690 per tonne. That gap is not a market signal: it is the price of purity, because each grade carries a different ceiling on iron, aluminium and calcium.

The five quotes fall into two clusters. Grades 553, 441 and 421 form the metallurgical block used in aluminium alloys, steelmaking and general deoxidation; they were quoted between USD 1,320 and USD 1,480 per tonne. Grades 3303 and 2202 are the chemical grades that feed silicone and polysilicon production, and they were quoted between USD 1,480 and USD 2,030 per tonne. A buyer who reads only the headline range may conclude that silicon metal costs something between USD 1,320 and USD 2,030 per tonne, when the table is actually trading two product families side by side, each with its own impurity ceiling and end use.

This report records the five quotes exactly as published, states what did and did not move, sets out the specification limits behind each grade designation, compares the two grades buyers most often weigh against each other, and lists what to fix before an order is placed.

Table 1. Silicon metal export prices, FOB Huangpu, November 4, 2026

Prices as published for the November 4, 2026 session, in USD per tonne, FOB Huangpu. The change column records the movement on the published line; a dash means no adjustment was recorded for the session.

Note: all five quotes are USD per tonne on an FOB Huangpu basis, and all five carry the same dash marker in the change column, so nothing in this table moved on the day. The sheet does not restate packing, bag weight, or whether tax and inland freight are included, so those terms have to be confirmed with the supplier behind the offer.

The basis matters as much as the number. FOB Huangpu means the goods are made available at that port and the price is quoted before ocean freight, insurance and destination charges. The grade designation matters just as much: 553 and 2202 are not two points on one price ladder, they are two different products. Historical context for the grade ranges is collected on our silicon metal price page.

No grade moved on November 4, 2026.

• 553 - USD 1,320-1,340/MT, no change.
• 441 - USD 1,380-1,400/MT, no change.
• 421 - USD 1,450-1,480/MT, no change.
• 3303 - USD 1,480-1,500/MT, no change.
• 2202 - USD 1,980-2,030/MT, no change.

A flat session leaves the internal structure of the market exactly where it was: the chemical grades still sit above the metallurgical grades, 421 still sits above 441, and 441 still sits above 553. The distances between neighbouring quotes were also unchanged - USD 20 per tonne between 2202 and 3303 at the low end of the chemical block, USD 30 between 421 and 3303, and USD 60 between 441 and 553 - so no grade gained or lost ground against another on the day.

This report does not say why the session was flat, because the price sheet does not carry that information. A dash in a change column records one thing only: no published adjustment occurred. It does not show whether the market was balanced, tight or loose, and it does not indicate direction for the next session. Buyers who need a sense of direction should compare this table with the quotes published over the preceding sessions and read the pattern, rather than treat one unchanged day as evidence of a trend.

The grade numbers are read as three impurity ceilings. In the trade shorthand, 441 means iron up to 0.40%, aluminium up to 0.40% and calcium up to 0.10%; 553 means iron up to 0.50%, aluminium up to 0.50% and calcium up to 0.30%. Under the current national standard the same products appear as Si4410 and Si5530, where the four digits repeat the same order with the calcium figure carrying two decimals. The shorthand and the standard designation describe the same material, so establish which form the supplier's certificate uses before comparing quotes.

Table 2. Silicon metal grade composition limits, GB/T 2881-2023

Limits taken from Table 1 of GB/T 2881-2023 (effective July 1, 2024, replacing GB/T 2881-2014), mass fraction. Nominal silicon is 100% minus the iron, aluminium and calcium content. Values are standard limits, not assay results for any particular lot.

The standard also fixes the physical side of the trade. The usual size range is 10-100 mm, screened so that no more than 5% of the mass sits above the upper screen and no more than 5% falls through the lower screen; a lot is a single grade with a batch weight of no more than 60 t; the default packing is a moisture-resistant woven bag of 1,000 kg net. Those clauses matter because two quotes on the same grade can still differ on screening allowance and bag weight.

The practical difference between 441 and 553 is tolerance, not chemistry. 441 holds aluminium and calcium an order tighter and iron 0.10 points tighter, which is what a foundry or an aluminium alloy plant needs when it counts on predictable recovery. 553 absorbs more impurity and is the grade chosen where the melt can take it: general deoxidation, lower-grade alloying, and feed streams where the residual is diluted downstream. Moving from 553 to 441 is a change of product, not an upgrade of the same product.

Table 3. Silicon Metal 441 VS Silicon Metal 553, November 4, 2026

Two readings follow. Each range is USD 20 per tonne wide, so the quoted width is identical on both grades. 441 sits exactly USD 60 per tonne above 553 at both the low end (1,380 against 1,320) and the high end (1,400 against 1,340), so the premium for the tighter grade was stable across the quoted band on the day.

Because both quotes are FOB Huangpu and in the same currency and unit, the comparison is like-for-like on delivery and money and unlike on product. The USD 60 premium buys lower ceilings on all three impurities and a nominal silicon content 0.40 points higher, which is what a buyer pays for when the melt cannot absorb the extra aluminium and calcium.

The published ranges set a reference level, not what will arrive at the plant gate. These checks cover the gap.

• Grade against the certificate. Confirm whether the supplier writes 441 or Si4410, and compare the iron, aluminium and calcium figures on the lot certificate with the standard ceilings rather than with the trade shorthand alone.
• Lump size and screening allowance. Fix the size range and both screening limits, and check them against how the material will be charged or crushed downstream.
• Packing and bag weight. Confirm the bag type and net weight, and whether the packing suits your unloading and storage arrangements.
• Delivery and tax basis. Establish whether the offer is FOB Huangpu only or delivered, and whether tax and inland freight are included.
• Quantity and lead time. Confirm the tonnage the quoted origin can actually supply inside your production window, and get the lead time in writing rather than as an estimate.
• Payment and settlement terms. Fix the currency, the incoterm and the payment terms before comparing offers from different suppliers.

For the low-phosphorus end of the range, specification details and standard packing for the metallurgical grades are set out on our Silicon Metal 553 product page.

• All five silicon metal grades were unchanged on November 4, 2026, from 553 at USD 1,320-1,340/MT to 2202 at USD 1,980-2,030/MT, all FOB Huangpu.
• The quotes split into a metallurgical block (553, 441, 421) between USD 1,320 and USD 1,480, and a chemical block (3303, 2202) between USD 1,480 and USD 2,030.
• Silicon Metal 441 held a stable USD 60/MT premium over Silicon Metal 553 at both ends of the range; each range was USD 20/MT wide.
• The grade digits are impurity ceilings under GB/T 2881-2023, not assay results, so the lot certificate settles what is actually in the bag.
• A flat day is a statement about published adjustments only. Read the surrounding sessions for direction.
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