Butadiene Rubber Market Prices Surge Sharply

March 24 news

In March 2026, the Chinese polybutadiene rubber market experienced a wide-ranging and significantly surging independent trend, breaking the previous consolidation pattern. The price level shifted substantially upwards during the month, mainly driven by strong cost support and expectations of tightening supply. Downstream demand followed cautiously, presenting an operational characteristic of "cost support, supply holding back, and just-in-time demand."

According to the commodity market analysis system, as of March 24, the price of butadiene rubber in the East China region was 17,420 CNY/ton, an increase of 33.90% from 13,010 CNY/ton at the beginning of the month. Enterprises have successively raised their supply prices significantly, and market traders have followed suit with higher quotations.

The turmoil in the Middle East has driven up international crude oil prices, leading to a tight supply and a significant increase in the price of butadiene, which strongly supports the cost of polybutadiene rubber. According to the commodity market analysis system, as of March 24, the price of butadiene was 16,766 CNY/ton, an increase of 67.78% from 9,993 CNY/ton at the beginning of the month.

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East has driven up international crude oil prices, leading to a tight supply and significant price increase of butadiene. As a result, domestic butadiene rubber producers have fallen into deep losses and have been forced to reduce production and halt operations, causing a substantial decline in the overall capacity utilization rate of the industry. Some companies still plan to conduct concentrated maintenance in April.

Supply and demand: Since March, the downstream tire production has gradually increased, providing support for the demand in the butadiene rubber market. As of March 19, the semi-steel tire production of Chinese tire companies has reached around 78%; the all-steel tire production of tire companies in Shandong region has reached about 70%.

Overall, the butadiene rubber market in China will likely maintain a high and volatile yet strong pattern in the short term. The core support remains the high cost of butadiene and the supply tightening pressure brought about by plant maintenance. If geopolitical tensions continue, raw material prices are unlikely to drop significantly; however, high prices will further suppress downstream demand, and weak transactions will limit the upward potential, with prices likely to fluctuate at high levels.