The market for Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) has experienced a significant downturn. According to the SunSirs Commodity Market Analysis System, as of May 25, the price of SBR in the East China market stood at 15,225 RMB/ton—a decline of 6.88% compared to the 16,350 RMB/ton recorded at the beginning of the month. Following the May Day holiday, the surge in market restocking subsided, causing prices to lose support from downstream sectors. Furthermore, with ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran leading to range-bound consolidation in international crude oil prices, cost-side pressures on SBR have eased; consequently, the market has consistently maintained a weak overall trajectory.
During April and May 2026, SBR prices exhibited a unidirectional downward trend, falling from approximately 18,000 RMB/ton to around 15,200 RMB/ton—a decline of over 15% within this period. Prices consistently traded below both the 10-day and 20-day moving averages, with the moving averages forming a bearish alignment. This clearly signaled short-term weakness, as the market lacked supportive forces and continued to release downward pressure.
Prices for the key raw materials—butadiene and styrene—have fluctuated downward. This has resulted in insufficient cost-side support for manufacturers, thereby undermining their leverage to push for SBR price increases. Concurrently, the crude oil market has experienced wide-ranging volatility driven by geopolitical developments and shifting supply-demand expectations, further exacerbating market uncertainty. According to the SunSirs system, as of May 25, the price of butadiene stood at 12,100 RMB/ton—down 8.33% from 13,200 RMB/ton at the start of the month. Similarly, the price of styrene stood at 9,400 RMB/ton as of May 25—a decline of 5.24% from 9,920 RMB/ton at the beginning of the month.
In May, Yangzi Petrochemical’s 100,000-ton/year SBR facility underwent a complete shutdown for maintenance, while other production units operated at reduced loads. As a result, domestic supply-side pressure on SBR remained relatively low. Supply and Demand: The current period marks the traditional off-season for the tire industry. Domestic demand for replacement tires is sluggish, and downstream manufacturers are facing an accumulation of finished goods inventory, resulting in reduced enthusiasm for maintaining high operating rates. Furthermore, factors such as the EU's anti-dumping policies and geopolitical conflicts have led to a decline in export orders for tires. Consequently, downstream enterprises are largely limiting their purchases to small, on-demand orders rather than engaging in centralized stockpiling—a trend that is directly weighing on the consumption of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR).
Market Outlook: From a fundamental perspective, the domestic SBR market is expected to remain largely range-bound in the short term, with a low probability of significant price surges or sharp declines. On the supply side, there are currently no plans for the concentrated restart of production units currently undergoing maintenance; as inventory levels remain manageable, this factor should serve to prevent any precipitous drop in rubber prices. However, given that demand is unlikely to see a near-term recovery, the potential for market upside remains limited. In the medium to long term—specifically during late June—as the summer off-season draws to a close, downstream tire manufacturers are expected to gradually begin restocking their inventories. Coupled with the stabilization of butadiene prices (a key raw material), rubber prices may experience a modest rebound. Overall, future market developments will hinge primarily on the progress of plant maintenance schedules, price trends for crude oil and butadiene, and changes in operating rates within the downstream tire sector.
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