The Chinese Module Marker (CMM), the OPIS benchmark assessment for TOPCon modules was assessed at $0.121 per W, unchanged week to week while mono PERC modules from China were assessed at $0.112/W, stable from the previous week amid unchanged market fundamentals.

The past few weeks of price hikes in the Chinese market saw a slight respite this week with many market participants pointing out that market activity had quietened down and prices were starting to stabilize in the domestic market.

Overseas demand continued to remain firm as March and April are the start of a strong quarter for solar deployments across Europe, with many companies installing the backlog of contracts they had accumulated over the winter, a market source said.

Turkey has implemented anti-dumping measures on solar panel imports from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan where a guarantee fee of $25 per square meter will be levied on photovoltaic (PV) cells that are assembled in modules or arranged in panels originating from these countries.

According to OPIS sources, these measures would not have a big impact on Southeast Asia modules as the majority of Southeast Asia modules are destined for the US market. The current US Section 201 tariff exemption of bifacial modules from Southeast Asia that is set to expire in June was expected to have a greater impact.

Freight rates from Southeast Asia to the United States remained at $0.02-0.03 with some players locking in their freights at lower rates, a market participant said. About 30 GW of module inventory that was imported last year to the United States was distorting prices in the market as sellers dropped prices of these old stock in a bid to clear inventory, the market source added. According to the source, prices of mono PERC in the warehouses are sold at $0.17/W, down from $0.19/W previously in December.

New domestic US module capacity is expected to come on stream in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2025 and demand for US-made modules is expected to remain high which will support firmer prices of these products, the source added.

OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data, and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals, and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly Report.