Supply and Demand
Story Emits
Economically, the Compact has been doing better, and recovering from the time of the Silent War and the attack by the Gyre. More nobility have spent heavily on the rarest and most elusive of materials, such as alaricite, fireweave, steelsilk and shadowmeld, and as a result, the supply for those (never bountiful to begin with) has gotten considerably thinner. Prices have jumped significantly as a result.