Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Market Shows Slight Upward Trend

October 21st, Xinhua News Agency reported

Recently (10.14~10.21), the butadiene rubber market in China has seen a slight upward trend. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of October 21st, the price of butadiene rubber in the East China region was 11,370 CNY/ton, an increase of 0.53% from 11,310 CNY/ton on the 14th. On one hand, the price of butadiene, the raw material, has stabilized in the short term, providing weak support for the cost of butadiene rubber; the production of butadiene rubber has shown minor fluctuations. On the other hand, after the holiday, the operation rate of downstream tire manufacturers has significantly rebounded, restoring the rigid demand support for butadiene rubber. The fundamentals have slightly improved, leading to a small rebound in the butadiene rubber market. As of October 21st, the main quotations for butadiene rubber from Qilu, Daqing, Sichuan, and Yangzi in the East China region were between 11,300 and 11,550 CNY/ton.

Recent international crude oil prices have stabilized at a low level, and butadiene prices in China have been narrowly fluctuating, with weaker cost support for polybutadiene rubber. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of October 21, the price of butadiene was 8,440 CNY/ton, unchanged from the 14th, and up 1.28% from the cycle low of 8,333 CNY/ton.

Recently (10.14~10.21), the operating rate of polybutadiene rubber plants in China was around 70%. Later, Sichuan Petrochemical has a short-term shutdown plan, which is expected to slightly reduce the supply.

Demand side: Recently (Oct. 14–Oct. 21), downstream tire manufacturers have gradually resumed operations following the holiday period, providing solid support for the butadiene rubber market. As of October 17, Chinese tire companies saw semi-steel tire production capacity slightly increase to around 71%, while all-steel tire production in Shandong province edged down to approximately 64%.

Market Forecast: From a fundamental perspective, analysts believe that the operating rates for cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber will remain relatively stable overall. Meanwhile, both demand and cost factors are expected to provide some support for the market. Overall, it is anticipated that cis-1,4-PBR will likely trade in a sideways range in the near term.