Gloomy Economy Drives Down the Calcium Silicate Prices in Europe
- 25-May-2023 12:01 PM
- Journalist: Harold Finch
The price of Calcium Silicate in the European market saw a downward trend during April 2023 due to the bleak downstream construction sector. Calcium Silicate is frequently used in the building and construction sector because of its properties, which allow for applications in adhesion, insulation, intumescence, and fire resistance.
Rising interest rates and tight financial conditions dampened European activities, further reducing the demand for Calcium Silicate in the Eurozone. The new orders received from domestic and overseas markets declined in April due to the poor performance of industrial activity.
Overall, Eurozone construction Purchasers Manager Index (PMI) contracted and remained below the threshold 50 base point for the twelfth month in a row. These indicated that the gloomy economic activities in the construction industry dampened the economic growth in the Eurozone and affected the cost of Calcium Silicate.
France experienced the greatest decline in commercial activity in April 2023, and Germany experienced the most notable decline in residential construction.
As per ChemAnalyst, the cost of Calcium Silicate hovered around USD 1105/MT on a CFR Hamburg basis with a monthly decline of 1.5% in April 2023.
The companies remained pessimism about the construction sector during the second quarter starting due to the hike in interest rates and other factors affecting the economy.
The cost of Calcium Silicate is expected to decline this month due to the weak purchasing activity from the construction industry. The outlook for the next 12 months would remain less optimistic, caused by high-interest rates and low investment interest in the German market. With the construction activity likely to weaken in May and continue throughout the second quarter of 2023, further supply chain problems are most probably to ease in the coming months. It is predicted that the Calcium Silicate market value is likely to drop by 2% to 2.5% in the current month of 2023.
