Entering late August, the domestic chemical market is in the traditional summer off-season. Persistently high temperatures restrict full-capacity operation of factories across various industries. Coupled with widespread wait-and-see sentiment among upstream and downstream participants, the overall trading activity of bulk chemicals keeps declining. The precipitated silica industry is also affected by the general off-season atmosphere, yet there is no unified upward or downward trend in market conditions, and the feature of structural differentiation has been further amplified. Conventional precipitated silica is continuously constrained by weak off-season demand from traditional downstream sectors such as tires, ordinary rubber and general coatings. Market transactions are thin with sluggish rigid demand, and prices fluctuate within a narrow range. Manufacturers mainly focus on stabilizing prices, boosting sales and destocking. In contrast, high-end grades including fumed silica, hydrophobically modified silica and high-dispersion special silica are supported by rigid demand from emerging tracks such as new energy, biomedicine, electronic materials and high-end rubber and plastic materials. These products enjoy sufficient orders and firm quotations, featuring strong resistance to risks and the off-season, with market resilience far superior to ordinary industrial-grade products. At present, the average market price of the industry remains at a relatively high level for the year, and the price gap between high-end and low-end products keeps widening. The industry has officially entered an era of refined, differentiated and high-end competition.

　　In terms of raw material costs, core feedstocks for precipitated silica such as sodium silicate, soda ash and sulfuric acid have operated weakly recently. The soda ash market faces inventory accumulation, sufficient supply and sluggish downstream demand, leading to prolonged low prices. The sulfuric acid market has also declined along with the off-season of the fertilizer and metallurgical industries, with regional prices generally softening, providing limited cost support for finished precipitated silica. The drop in raw material costs has alleviated production pressure for precipitated silica manufacturers to a certain extent, and profit margins of small and medium-sized factories have recovered slightly. However, the cost logic of fumed silica is completely different. Its production is highly dependent on organosilicon monomers and high-purity silicon raw materials, accompanied by high energy consumption, complex purification processes and heavy environmental protection investment, resulting in extremely rigid production costs. It will not reduce prices following minor fluctuations in basic raw materials, which is the core reason for the long-term stable quotations and obvious premium of high-end precipitated silica. Meanwhile, additional costs such as environmental management, wastewater treatment, powder modification and purity purification continue to build the cost barrier between high-end and low-end products.

　　The supply side presents a pattern of loose general capacity and tight high-end capacity. Major domestic precipitated silica manufacturers maintain stable operation, mostly arranging production according to orders and controlling output to stabilize prices. The launch of new capacity has slowed down, and there is no obvious overcapacity pressure across the industry. Nevertheless, low-end capacity of small and medium manufacturers suffers from serious homogenization. To compete for limited traditional orders, some suppliers sell products at low prices, continuously curbing the upward room for conventional precipitated silica prices. In the high-end segment, leading domestic enterprises keep upgrading processes for hydrophobic modification, high dispersion and ultrafine powder to gradually realize import substitution. However, the capacity of ultra-high-purity special precipitated silica adapted to lithium battery separators, photovoltaic silicone rubber, food, medicine and semiconductor fields remains tight, featuring long delivery cycles and obvious supply shortage. The pricing power of high-end products continues to concentrate.

　　The divergence of downstream demand is increasingly prominent. Traditional sectors drag down the overall market, while emerging tracks keep expanding. Affected by the high-temperature off-season, traditional industries including tires, ordinary rubber products and civil coatings see reduced operating rates and cautious stockpiling. Most buyers adopt the just-in-time procurement mode without centralized restocking, leading to sustained weak demand for conventional precipitated silica. On the contrary, demand in high-end fields such as new energy lithium batteries, photovoltaic sealing materials, high-end silicone rubber, food anticaking agents, oral care, precision printing inks and electronic packaging keeps growing steadily. Downstream customers impose strict requirements on powder purity, dispersibility, specific surface area, hydrophobic effect and weather resistance, continuously driving incremental demand for modified, high-purity and functional precipitated silica, which serves as the core support for the industry market. The continuous implementation of policies for green tire upgrading also fuels replacement demand for high-dispersion precipitated silica.

　　In the foreign trade market, global trade thresholds keep rising. Overseas buyers set increasingly strict requirements on carbon footprint, low-carbon certification, safety qualifications and traceability systems. Domestic enterprises with green production and compliance qualifications gain obvious export advantages. Markets in Europe, America and Southeast Asia maintain stable demand for high-end functional precipitated silica with considerable profits. However, export competition for ordinary industrial precipitated silica has turned white-hot. The release of local overseas production capacity and aggressive bargaining from purchasers continuously squeeze profits of low-end exports, forcing the industry to phase out low-end capacity, promote product upgrading and optimize the export structure. At the same time, fluctuations in international logistics and geopolitical policies continue to affect the delivery and cost accounting of foreign trade orders.

　　Looking ahead to market trends, the traditional off-season has not ended in the short term. Conventional precipitated silica is likely to continue weak and volatile movement with limited fluctuation range, dominated by the game between supply and demand. In September, with the arrival of the traditional peak season "Golden September and Silver October" in the chemical industry, downstream industries including rubber, coatings, rubber and plastics are expected to resume production gradually. The release of centralized restocking demand from downstream buyers is anticipated, bringing a recovery prospect for the overall precipitated silica market. In the medium and long run, the dual-carbon policies will keep tightening, clarifying the transformation direction of the industry. Customized modification, high-purity functionalization and green low-carbon development have become core development trends. Industrial resources, orders and profits will keep tilting toward high-end special precipitated silica, and the gap between high-end and low-end products will continue to widen. Future industrial competition will no longer focus on production capacity scale, but on modification technology, formulation capability, refined quality and supporting technical services.