# Silicones: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/correlation/ Silicones are made by reacting silicon metal with methyl chloride, itself made from methanol, into siloxanes. China dominates supply, so prices follow Chinese silicon metal and power costs and demand from construction, electronics, cars and solar. No public price Silicones has no public monthly price series: Sold as many grades on private contracts; no public price index. #### What its price moves with Commodity [Si Silicon](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/)Raw material Metallurgical silicon is the backbone of every siloxane, and its price swings with Chinese power curbs in hydro-reliant provinces. Neither has a public series here, so the tie is shown only as text. No public price for silicon, so the link is explained in words only. Chemical [MeOH Methanol](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/methanol/)Feedstock Methanol and hydrochloric acid make methyl chloride, the methyl source in the direct process. Methanol is a smaller cost than silicon metal, and silicones lack a public series, so the tie cannot be measured. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Chemical [pSi Polysilicon](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polysilicon/)Competing use Solar-grade polysilicon and silicones both draw on silicon metal, so solar booms raise feedstock prices for siloxane makers and solar slumps release supply. Neither price is available as a series here, so the link is shown as text. No public price for polysilicon, so the link is explained in words only. Chemical [Adh Adhesives and sealants](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/adhesives/)End use Silicone sealants for windows, facades and bathrooms are a large outlet, competing with polyurethane and acrylic sealants. The adhesives index covers the whole sealant market, but silicones lack a series to compare with it. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Energy [HI Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/)Power cost Silicon smelting in arc furnaces is very power-hungry, so electricity costs and Chinese power rationing feed into silicone prices. The US industrial power index cannot be compared because silicones lack a public series. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. 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/silicones/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/overview/index.md) - [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/routes/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/production/index.md) - [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/feedstocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/movement/index.md) - [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/regulation/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/links/index.md)