Weakening cost support for silicone; DMC prices slightly lowered [SMM Silicone Weekly Review]

Published: Oct 22, 2026 16:22 (GMT+8)

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[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Cost Support for Silicone Weakens, DMC Prices Edge Down] This week, overall silicone costs pulled back, and the industry's comprehensive production costs declined accordingly. As of October 22, the average price of #421 silicon metal for silicone use in east China stood at 9,750 yuan/mt, remaining largely stable; the mainstream transaction price of #421 silicon in east China averaged 9,550 yuan/mt, down 0.52% WoW, with silicon metal prices trending downward this week. Meanwhile, methanol market prices pulled back, dragging methyl chloride costs lower in tandem. This week, the average market price of methyl chloride was 3,450 yuan/mt, down 6.76% WoW.

October 22 news:

Cost: Silicone costs pulled back overall this week, and the industry's comprehensive production costs declined accordingly. As of October 22, the average price of #421 silicon metal for silicone use in east China stood at 9,750 yuan/mt, holding steady overall; the mainstream transaction price of #421 silicon in east China averaged 9,550 yuan/mt, down 0.52% WoW, with silicon metal prices trending lower this week. Meanwhile, methanol market prices pulled back, dragging methyl chloride costs down in tandem. This week, the average price of methyl chloride stood at 3,450 yuan/mt, down 6.76% WoW. Driven by lower prices across multiple raw materials, comprehensive production costs at silicone monomer producers pulled back, and producers' willingness to hold prices firm weakened.

DMC: China's silicone DMC market prices edged lower this week, with mainstream transaction prices averaging 14,400 yuan/mt. Methanol prices on the raw material side moved down, weakening cost support for DMC prices. Monomer producers' offers trended looser, and price rises encountered resistance. On the supply side, the industry's overall operating rate held above 65%. As producers still had undelivered pre-sale orders from earlier periods, monomer plant inventories generally remained at low levels. On the demand side, downstream market participants held expectations of DMC price declines and largely adopted a wait-and-see stance, lacking momentum for concentrated restocking. Transactions relied mainly on small rigid-demand orders, new orders were limited, and overall trading sentiment was sluggish.

Silicone oil: Prices of conventional-viscosity dimethicone held steady overall this week, with market quotations ranging from 15,800 to 16,000 yuan/mt and a weekly average price of 15,900 yuan/mt. On the cost side, upstream DMC prices edged lower, somewhat weakening support for silicone oil quotations. However, as downstream end-use demand remained persistently weak, market purchasing enthusiasm was insufficient, and transaction prices offered limited reference value. Silicone oil producers kept quotations broadly stable while monitoring the market outlook.

107 silicone rubber: Prices of conventional-viscosity 107 silicone rubber held steady overall this week, with market quotations ranging from 14,400 to 14,600 yuan/mt and a market average price of 14,500 yuan/mt. At present, 107 silicone rubber prices are essentially flat with raw material DMC prices, and producers generally face losses, with production margins under notable pressure. On the demand side, downstream silicone sealant industry operating rates were steady-to-weak, and enterprises purchased cautiously without concentrated restocking. The market saw only a small volume of rigid-demand orders, and overall transactions were sluggish.

MVQ: MVQ market prices held firm this week, with mainstream quotations ranging from 15,400 to 15,700 yuan/mt and a market average price of 15,550 yuan/mt. Although upstream DMC prices edged lower, the MVQ market remained watchful of the raw material side's future direction, and producers' quotation sentiment stayed broadly stable. Current market circulation was dominated by delivery of previously accumulated orders, and cost pass-through to downstream silicone rubber compounders remained poor. Downstream purchases were mainly rigid-demand based, with a cautious attitude toward stockpiling.

Overall, the silicone market trended steady-to-weak this week. Upstream cost support weakened somewhat, and producers showed greater willingness to take orders. However, downstream end-use demand remained persistently soft, the market lacked incremental support, downstream producers held a strong wait-and-see sentiment, and trading across all product categories was subdued. In the short term, China's silicone market prices are likely to edge lower before continuing to run steadily. Market movements will depend mainly on improvement and volume growth in downstream end-use demand, while attention should also be paid to the impact of raw material price fluctuations.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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