SOL - Solar stocks drop as China said to seek ways to curb soaring solar PV prices

Solar stocks ( NYSEARCA: TAN ) are lower across the board on Friday after Bloomberg reported that China's government is preparing to intervene to halt polysilicon prices that have surged to 10-year highs, hurting demand for solar panels from giant utility-scale solar farms.

It is not clear what the government could do. to curb soaring prices, but similar efforts have urged natural resource miners from coal to lithium to rein in escalating costs of their production.

Daqo New Energy ( NYSE: DQ ) leads the decliners, -7.7% , but losses are widespread: ( FTCI ) -8.9% , ( SHLS ) -7% , ( SUNW ) -6.9% , ( MAXN ) -6% , ( ENPH ) -3.9% , ( SPWR ) -3.7% , ( SOL ) -3.7% , ( RUN ) -3.6% , ( NOVA ) -3.5% , ( SEDG ) -2.4% , ( JKS ) -1.7% , ( CSIQ ) -0.5% .

Even First Solar ( FSLR ), whose manufacturing base is in the U.S. and not China, -1.8% .

Despite the higher PV prices, China's solar installations more than doubled between January and June and likely will shatter previous records for the full year, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association.

Solar stocks fell last week after Senator Joe Manchin said he would not support major climate provisions in the budget reconciliation bill .

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