Threatening Recession Pushes Fumed Silica Prices to Fall in the USA and Europe

The recent pricing analysis shows that the price of Fumed Silica continued to demonstrate a declining trend in the European and American markets, owing to weak economic conditions, the decline in freight cost, and cheaper imports from the exporting countries.

The North American Fumed Silica market has been facing price fluctuations for a very long time due to the perpetuating threat of recession in the region and the collapse of two major banks in the USA. The price of Fumed Silica continued to decline in April too, where a fall of around USD 170/MT was observed during this period. Easing freight costs, falling prices of Silica (Base material used for manufacturing of Fumed Silica), and low demand from the downstream paint, cosmetics, and electronic manufacturers owned to the current price trend. However, as per data released by the FRED, the Industrial production index has risen during April to 103 from 102.5 in March 2023.

On the other hand, the prices of Fumed Silica declined by USD 160/MT in Germany in April 2023 on the back of prolonged weak economic conditions after the war situation happened in the region. Similar market sentiments like the decline in freight cost, low cost of Silica, and diminished demand for Fumed Silica from paints, cosmetics, and construction industries remained the major driving factor for this price trend in the regional market. Furthermore, the presence of a high volume of the commodity in the inventories by traders also contributed to the price trend.

It is anticipated that the demand for Fumed Silica in the European market may continue to remain moderate to low, the market situation will be bearish, and the cost of raw materials may decline further. However, the prices are anticipated to improve in the American Fumed Silica market in the following months due to the expected improvement in the demand situation of the country.