Styrene-butadiene rubber market prices fluctuate and rise sharply

January 26 news

Since the beginning of 2026, the butadiene rubber market in China has experienced significant fluctuations and a substantial increase. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of January 26, the price of butadiene rubber in the East China region was 12,930 CNY/ton, an increase of 11.66% from 11,580 CNY/ton at the beginning of the month. As of January 26, the closing price of the main butadiene futures contract BR2603 was 13,265 CNY/ton, a cumulative increase of over 14.75% from the opening price of 11,560 CNY/ton at the beginning of the month. Overall, while the market is exploring higher prices, the offset between cost support and inventory pressure has led to small fluctuations such as oscillations and corrections.

Since the beginning of the month, the price of butadiene in China has risen significantly, and the cost support for polybutadiene rubber has strengthened. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of January 26, the price of butadiene was 10,733 CNY per ton, an increase of 28.80% from 8,333 CNY per ton at the beginning of the month.

At the beginning of the month, the production of butadiene in China did not significantly increase, and there was an expectation of reduced imports from South Korea, leading to a tight supply situation and a rapid surge in prices. This pushed up the price of polybutadiene rubber. In the middle to late part of the month, the port inventory of butadiene in East China decreased substantially by 10,100 tons to around 34,500 tons. The shift from inventory accumulation to destocking provided strong support to the cost end for a period.

In January, the operating rate of China's butadiene rubber plants increased from 7.6 to around 80%. The supply was relatively loose, with a slight accumulation of inventory to around 35,000 tons, which had a somewhat negative impact on the butadiene rubber market.

Since the beginning of the month, downstream tire production has slightly increased, providing a small boost to the butadiene rubber market. As of January 26, the operating rate of semi-steel tire production in Chinese tire companies has increased from 67% at the beginning of the month to around 75%; in Shandong, the operating rate of all-steel tire production in tire companies has increased from 58% at the beginning of the month to about 63%.

Market Forecast: From a fundamental perspective, analysts believe that supply of the raw material butadiene is set to rise significantly, while downstream tire production rates are expected to increase slightly. With ample supply of cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber, we anticipate that prices for cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber will likely consolidate at higher levels in the near term.