Silicon Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Metal Silicon in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

For the Q1, Q2 and Q3 of 2022

Asia

Metal Silicon prices in China rose rapidly in the first two weeks of March before plummeting due to weakening market confidence. Prices of Silicone DMC steadied towards the end of March, while prices of Silicon metal did not follow the trend. Silicon metal prices continued to fall sharply, averaging 3540-3460 USD/MT.

Market demand for silicon metal was low, with only a few purchase requests received. Many small and medium-sized silicon factories increased their willingness to sell due to the sharp drop in revenues. Downstream industries were also constantly changing their production rhythms because of lower demand and the impediment of raw material delivery.

The declining price trends continued in the second quarter. Due to weak demand and prolonged procurement from the downstream industries, silicon metal prices were sluggish. The prices were also affected as the industries halted production owing to the covid related restrictions.

The factories resumed production after removing restrictions, but the Metal Silicon prices remained on the lower end of the scale. As the prices of the raw materials stabilized and the cost of production improved in the third quarter, the prices were still low owing to the cautious buying activity of consumers, given the current grim market outlook. The silicon metal price averaged 2530 USD/MT at the end of the third quarter.

Europe

As a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, prices of materials increased. Metal Silicon prices rose in January due to their shortage in Europe. Since Russia is the world's second-largest silicon manufacturer after China, its invasion of Ukraine resulted in the suspension of supplies. Sanctions on Russia imposed by the European buyers caused them to build stocks from other countries.

Metal Silicon prices continued an upward trend in the second quarter due to rising European electricity and energy prices. However, as the demand for Russian Silicon continued to decrease, the segment became overstocked, and prices fell.

This price decline continued in the third quarter as the market's double-digit inflation and wait-and-see attitude heavily impacted the prices. The manufacturers could not pass the high costs to the consumers fearing demand destruction; hence their profits declined. The market remained sluggish, with the silicon prices averaging 3115 USD/MT towards the end of Q3.

North America

High prices of upstream materials like silica, pet coke, soft coal, and charcoal, along with rising electricity rates, resulted in an increase in Metal Silicon prices in North America in the first quarter. These high prices continued in the second quarter. The increasing inflationary pressures amid supply constraints, complex logistics and labour shortages heavily impacted the price trends.

Towards the end of Q2, the prices began to decline owing to negative market sentiments. The higher quotations by the manufacturers to cushion their profits led to muted market transactions. The Metal Silicon prices averaged 3020 USD/MT toward the end of Q3.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Metal Silicon. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.