In March, there was a slight rise in the prices of salicylic acid globally, reversing the previous month's decline. The price increase was primarily caused by a tightening of the supply chain, strategic inventory realignments by customers, and shifting trade policy.

Increase in the prices of salicylic acid was the result of escalating international trade issues resulting from key active pharmaceutical components (APIs) of countries such as India and China. Members of the pharmaceutical supply chain expressed concern when the United States administration announced further import taxes on Chinese products from March 4, followed by new export taxes from Indian drugs in early April. Most buyers rushed to purchase the required goods in March due to the expected higher costs and potential delivery delays, resulting in a temporary increase in market demand and increasing the price of salicylic acid.

As India serves as a significant exporter of active pharmaceutical ingredients to numerous countries, its smaller companies are facing increasing pressure due to higher costs and concerns about competition in the US market. Many Indian exporters made the choice to either limit new offers or send shipments to markets outside the United States, leading to restricted global supplies. The limited availability of salicylic acid consistently caused its prices to rise.

China, as a key player on the international API market, had an important effect in the March movement for the price value of salicylic acid. The official purchasing managers index (PMI) increased from 50.2 in February to 50.5 in March 2025, indicating a slight increase in production activities. Although it is not the major, the rise has indicated a robust setting of the output in many sectors, including pharmaceuticals. A steady but slow industrial performance of China has slightly helped with the output of salicylic acid, which corresponded more closely to global demand.

The European market had a stabilization effect. According to current euro area inflation in March 2025, it dropped slightly to 2.2% of 2.3% in February. It seemed that a minor improvement in inflation increases consumers' trust, resulting in consistent purchasing activity from the subsequent pharmaceutical industry. With fewer domestic shocks from domestic prices, European clients maintained a lot of constant order, help stabilize the image of demand and promote the gradual recovery of salicylic acid prices.

Many of the pharmaceutical wholesale drug suppliers and distributors in the United States who had in the prior months run through their inventory, then began cautiously building back their inventory before April's tariff hike further fueled the demand for salicylic acid.

As per ChemAnalyst study, the overall salicylic Acid prices are anticipated to surge globally in the upcoming months, driven by the supply-side constraint and increased demand from the pharmaceutical sector. As trade-related cost pressures begin to emerge and suppliers adapt their export strategy, world supply is predicted to be restricted. On the other hand, buyers are probably still slowly but surely replenishing inventories and may be helping keep salicylic acid in demand.