# Insecticides: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/correlation/ Insecticides such as pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, organophosphates and diamides protect crops like cotton, rice and vegetables. Prices depend on chlorinated and aromatic intermediates, largely from China, and on pest pressure and farm incomes. Proxy **US PPI: agricultural and commercial pesticides and chemicals** index (BLS base period =100) · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 There is no free public price for insecticides itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item. #### What its price moves with Selected link ##### Insecticides and Crude oil Monthly changes -0.07 little or none correlation 12-month changes 0.16 little or none correlation Last 5 years -0.04 monthly changes Lead or lag +1 mo Crude oil tends to lead by 1 month (r 0.13) Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 Insecticides ≈ 104.4 × (Crude oil)^0.05 R² 0.01 On this fit, a 10% higher crude oil price goes with a 0.4% higher insecticides price over the long run. Units: index (BLS base period =100) and $/bbl. The fit is loose, so treat the function as a rough guide. Chart: Insecticides and Crude oil prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, log scale Both prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size. Chart: Insecticides price against Crude oil price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2006), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic. Energy [Oil Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/)Distant feedstock −0.07 Most insecticides are built from aromatic and other petrochemical intermediates, but many synthesis steps add value. Against the pesticides proxy, monthly moves correlate at -0.07 and yearly at 0.16, so there is little visible link. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Chemical [Cl2 Chlorine](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/chlorine/)Chlorination input 0.17 Pyrethroids, many neonicotinoids and diamides contain chlorine, and chlorinated intermediates are key inputs. Against the chlor-alkali proxy, monthly moves correlate at 0.17 and yearly moves at 0.74, as chlorine costs feed through slowly. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Commodity [P Phosphate rock](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/phosphate/)Organophosphate input 0.17 Organophosphate insecticides such as acephate and chlorpyrifos, used widely on cotton, rice and vegetables, contain phosphorus from phosphate rock. Monthly moves correlate at 0.17 and yearly moves at 0.52 with the pesticides proxy. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Commodity [Ct Cotton](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/)Crop demand 0.15 Cotton is one of the heaviest insecticide users, especially against bollworm and sucking pests in India. Monthly moves correlate at 0.15, and at 0.38 over the last five years, the strongest crop link in this set. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Commodity [Ri Rice](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rice/)Crop demand −0.00 Rice paddies in India and Asia are a big market for insecticides against brown planthopper and stem borer. Rice prices, often shaped by government policy, do not track the US index: monthly and yearly moves correlate at 0.00. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/overview/index.md) - [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/routes/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/production/index.md) - [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/feedstocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/movement/index.md) - [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/regulation/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/links/index.md)