For the Quarter Ending December 2022
North America
Magnesium Stearate USP costs in North America dropped consistently in the fourth quarter of 2022, with CFR Texas values falling from $2650/mt to $2310/mt between October and December. Due to a Golden week holiday in the largest exporting nation in the world, China, imports of Magnesium Stearate were delayed in the first week of October, along with the consistently low demand across the United States. Additionally, prices fell further in the nation in the latter weeks of the quarter because local retailers had significant stock stockpiles, and there was a lesser demand for the same. However, the protracted supply chain did start to improve as the economy expanded, and the port backlog rapidly decreased in November.
Asia Pacific
In the 4th quarter of 2022, Magnesium Stearate prices in the Asia Pacific region displayed conflicting sentiments. From October to November, FOB Shenzhen prices increased from $1780/mt to $1850/mt before declining to $1750/mt in December. Due to the production facilities being closed for the one-week holiday, orders for Magnesium Stearate for the Chinese pharma excipient market slightly decreased during the first week of October. Domestic merchants encountered a variety of contradicting signals after the holidays and the market's reopening, which made it difficult for the players to keep up with the modest development seen in the downstream industries. The demand from end users was steady throughout the entire quarter.
Europe
The German market for Magnesium Stearate in Europe displayed similar patterns to those in North America and Asia. Offtakes were higher in the first half of Q4 than they were in December because of the unexpected rise in coronavirus infections, which caused a fall in global demand during the last few weeks of December. However, factors like COVID mishaps and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine kept hurting the economy as a whole. Supply chain worries diminished, and by the end of the year, Germany's CPI had declined.
For The Quarter Ending September 2022
North America
The third quarter of 2022 witnessed a declining market trend for Magnesium Stearate in the North American market, with prices declining from USD 3130/MT to USD 2830/MT from July to September. However, demand remained slow from the downstream pharmaceutical industries; thus, traders favored evacuating their stockpiles at cheaper rates. Additionally, demand was subdued due to the looming end of the high bottle season and record-high inflation, weakening consumers' beliefs. However, the frequent lockdowns in China, from which most pharmaceutical excipients are imported, forced manufacturers to cut their prices. Due to this, downstream trades were in a solid wait-and-see attitude.
Asia- Pacific
Following the global market situation, the Magnesium Stearate market in the Asia-Pacific region dipped throughout the third quarter. The FOB Shenzhen prices of Magnesium Stearate settled at USD 2600/MT in July and decreased even further to USD 1820/MT in September. The primary factor behind the decline was lower demand from the downstream pharmaceutical and food sector and weakened upstream palm oil prices. Further, the reappearance of Covid cases in the Chinese market resulted in the zero-tolerance policy, which affected the Chinese economy badly. Thus, the overall economic slowdown continued to pull down the Magnesium Stearate supply in China, negatively impacting the price trend.
Europe
The third quarter of 2022 began out positively for the European Magnesium Stearate market due to a lack of product availability in the local market. However, prices eventually dropped in Germany towards the second half of the quarter. Germany's logistical problems this quarter worsened the country's economic downturn as transportation bottlenecks continued. Due to the continued lockdowns at Chinese ports and the instability in Russia and Ukraine, the situation in Europe deteriorated. Domestic merchants were compelled to cut their quotes for Magnesium Stearate in the H2 of Q3 because of the sluggish end-user demand for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors.
