According to the weekly price survey conducted by EnergyTrend, the polysilicon price could not withstand the market price pressure and decreased from the high point. The price quotation has shown an obvious decrease this week. On the other hand, the solar cell price continues to decrease, and EnergyTrend believes that solar cell manufacturers will face a serious challenge in the second quarter of the year.

The survey shows that the price of polysilicon has decreased by 4.47%, to $79/kg, and fallen below $80/kg for the first time. The average price of Si wafer has also continued to decrease, and the average price of multi-Si wafer has remained at $3.43/piece, which did not show a further decrease from last week. In addition, the price of mono-Si wafer has slightly decreased by 1.33%, to $3.7/Watt. In terms of solar cell, since the demand did not recover, the module market price is affected by manufacturers selling at low prices, and the average price has decreased by 2.28%, to $1.544/Watt.

Moreover, due to low market demand, the price quotation for thin film solar cell was affected as well. The average trading price has dropped by 3.11%, and come to $1.248/Watt, while the price of solar inverter has decreased by 8.62%, to $0.265/Watt.

According to EnergyTrend’s survey, the European market demand has not shown obvious recovery up till early second quarter of the year, which results in a great pressure for solar cell and module price quotations. Some manufacturers’ profits have come to the break-even point or even losses. If the price does not recover in May, the manufacturers will face a serious challenge in 2Q11.