SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber) Market Prices Slightly Decline

September 23, News

Recently (9.17~9.23), the styrene-butadiene rubber market in China has slightly declined. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of September 23, the price of styrene-butadiene rubber in the East China market was 12,108 CNY/ton, a decrease of 1.16% from 12,250 CNY/ton on September 17. The prices of raw materials butadiene and styrene have slightly decreased, leading to a slight reduction in the cost of styrene-butadiene rubber. The downstream tire production remains basically stable, providing rigid demand support for styrene-butadiene rubber; the production of styrene-butadiene rubber is also basically stable, with the mainstream market quotation for Fushun, Jihua, Yangzi, and Qilu styrene-butadiene rubber 1502 in the East China region being around 12,000 to 12,200 CNY/ton as of September 23.

Recently (September 17–23), prices for raw materials butadiene and styrene edged slightly lower, while cost support for styrene-butadiene rubber weakened. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of September 23, the price of butadiene stood at 9,240 CNY/ton, down 0.29% from 9,266 CNY/ton on September 17. Meanwhile, styrene prices fell to 7,178 CNY/ton by September 23, a 2.13% decline from the previous week’s level of 7,334 CNY/ton on September 17.

Recently (Sept. 17–23), China's styrene-butadiene rubber plants maintained largely stable operations, running at around 69% capacity.

Supply and Demand Overview: Recently (Sept. 17–23), downstream tire production activity saw a slight increase, providing solid support for the demand-driven styrene-butadiene rubber market. As of September 18, Chinese tire companies' semi-steel tire production capacity utilization edged up to around 75%; meanwhile, in Shandong province, full-steel tire production capacity utilization dipped slightly to approximately 65%.

Market Outlook: From a fundamental perspective, analysts believe that the current supply and demand for styrene-butadiene rubber remain relatively stable. However, if raw material prices rise again following the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut, this is expected to push the price of styrene-butadiene rubber higher.