# Asbestos: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/correlation/ Asbestos, now almost all chrysotile, is mined mainly in Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Brazil. Dozens of countries ban it for its cancer risk. India is a major importer for asbestos-cement roofing sheets, so its building demand sets much of the market. No public price Asbestos has no public monthly price series: Banned in many countries; thin trade on private deals, no public index. #### What its price moves with Commodity [Cem Cement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/)Fibre cement Chrysotile fibres reinforce asbestos-cement roofing sheets, pipes and boards, the main remaining use. Rural housing demand in India and other Asian countries therefore drives asbestos imports along with cement consumption. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Commodity [Wo Wollastonite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wollastonite/)Substitute Wollastonite fibres replace asbestos in brake pads, boards and insulation. Each new national ban shifts demand from asbestos to substitutes like this, so the two markets move in opposite directions over time. No public price for wollastonite, so the link is explained in words only. Chemical [PP Polypropylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polypropylene/)Substitute fibre Non-asbestos fibre-cement sheets use polypropylene or polyvinyl alcohol fibres with cellulose. These substitute fibres cost more, so their price relative to asbestos influences how quickly roofing makers switch when a country bans or restricts chrysotile. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Chemical [Cl2 Chlorine](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/chlorine/)Former use Diaphragm cells in some chlor-alkali plants used asbestos separators to make chlorine and caustic soda. Bans and conversion to membrane cells remove this industrial use, a key step in the latest United States ban. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Commodity [Vm Vermiculite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/)Contamination Some vermiculite ore carried asbestos fibres, causing disease among miners and residents near the Libby mine. That history makes buyers of vermiculite and talc test for asbestos, a cost that shapes those markets. No public price for vermiculite, so the link is explained in words only. 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/commodities/asbestos/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/overview/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/stocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/links/index.md)