Silicon Metal Market Analysis: Price Trend, Trade Data and Silicone Demand

Data source: UN Comtrade public trade statistics (https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=280469&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true) | Last updated: 2026-10-30

Price Trajectory, latest 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07)

The monthly customs export unit value for HS 280469 moved from USD 2,808.85/ton in 2025-08 to USD 2,224.02/ton in 2026-07 (-20.8% across the window). The window high was USD 2,961.93/ton in 2025-09 and the low USD 2,224.02/ton in 2026-07. Three-month averages put the latest quarter -6.0% against the previous one, which is classified here as bearish.

The same panel reported USD 698.7 million of export value on 272,567 tonnes over the twelve months, an average of 22,714 tonnes a month. Values are customs returns for the stated HS heading, so they capture the traded mix of that heading rather than a single quoted grade.

The EU side of the same market is one month fresher than the panel above: Eurostat Comext records EU27 imports of HS 280469 from outside the EU at USD 2,029.04/ton in 2026-08 (EUR 1,750.22/ton at the ECB monthly reference rate), +1.6% against 2026-07, on 30,821 tonnes; the twelve months to 2026-08 totalled 333,717 tonnes. On the 11 months the two datasets share (2025-09 to 2026-07), three-month blocks that far apart moved -17.2% on the export panel and -5.3% on the EU import side, so the two agree on direction. Import values are recorded on a CIF-type basis by a single bloc, so the level is not comparable with the export panel — the comparison above is directional.

2026-08 is not used yet: 3 of the listed reporters had filed both value and net weight for this heading when this page was rebuilt, against the 7 that make up the locked panel used here, and 2026-09 had no filings at all. Mixing a partly-filed month into a fixed panel would move the unit value through composition alone, so the window is held at 2026-07 until the panel for 2026-08 is complete.

HS 280469 covers silicon containing less than 99.99% by weight of silicon, so metallurgical and chemical-grade silicon metal sits here while polysilicon for photovoltaics and semiconductors (HS 280461) is outside the series.

Supply-side factors

• Fixed reporting panel of 7 economies: BRA (76), CAN (124), MYS (458), NLD (528), IND (699), SWE (752), USA (842). The panel is held constant in every month of the window so month-to-month movement is not a composition effect.
• Monthly unit value range over the window: USD 2,224.02 to USD 2,961.93/ton.
• Latest month, 2026-07: USD 2,224.02/ton, -3.9% against the previous month, on 20,310 tonnes.

Demand-side factors

• Silicon metal demand runs through silicones and silanes, aluminium alloys, and chemical intermediates such as fumed silica and trichlorosilane. Polysilicon for solar cells is the fastest-growing outlet but is classified in a separate heading, so it is not inside this series.
• Related market pages on this site: Silicon Carbide, Petroleum Coke and Chlorine — Silicon Carbide for the other electric-furnace silicon product; Petroleum Coke for the carbon reductant charged to the furnace; Chlorine for the route to methyl chloride and silicones.

Basis: these are customs unit values for the stated HS heading, not quoted spot, contract or assessed prices, and no paid price assessment is used or redistributed on this page. Every figure can be re-checked at the API links listed at the end of this page.

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