SunSirs: China BR Market Continues to be Weak

Recently (12.1-12.12), the market for butadiene rubber has continued to be weak. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of SunSirs, as of December 12th, the market price of butadiene rubber in East China was 11,860 RMB/ton, a decrease of 4.12% from the beginning of the month at 12,370 RMB/ton.

The price of raw material butadiene has significantly decreased, and the cost center of butadiene rubber has significantly declined. Downstream tire factories have seen a significant decrease in production compared to late November. The demand for butadiene rubber has weakened, coupled with a slight increase in supply, resulting in overall weak transactions in the butadiene rubber market and a decrease in the factory price of butadiene rubber. As of December 12th, PetroChina Northeast Sales Company's Daqing Shunding Northeast Warehouse has raised prices by 11600 RMB/ton, while the mainstream prices in the Shunding rubber market in eastern China, such as Daqing, Sichuan, Yangtze, Yanshan, and Qilu, are reported at 11,500-11,900 RMB/ton; Private polybutadiene rubber costs 11,200-11,600 RMB/ton.

Recently (December 12-12), the construction of domestic butadiene rubber plants slightly increased, and Shandong Weite's 50,000 tons/year butadiene rubber plant resumed operation on December 4th; Zhejiang Petrochemical's 100,000 ton/year Shunding equipment was temporarily shut down on November 24th and resumed operation on December 1st; In addition, the Shunding unit of Maoming Petrochemical is scheduled to be shut down for maintenance on December 13th.

Recently (12.1-12.12), the price of butadiene has significantly declined, and the cost center of butadiene rubber has decreased. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of SunSirs, as of December 12th, the price of butadiene was 8,370 RMB/ton, a decrease of 8.27% from 9,125 RMB/ton at the beginning of the month.

Recently (12.1-12.12), the natural rubber market has fluctuated and fallen, and the atmosphere in the rubber market is weak. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of SunSirs, as of December 12th, the price was 12,470 RMB/ton, a decrease of 1.66% from 12,680 RMB/ton at the beginning of the month, and the lowest point in the cycle was 12,300 RMB/ton.

Demand side: Recently (12.1-12.12), the production of all steel tires has slightly decreased, resulting in weak demand for rubber. It is understood that as of early December 2023, the operating load of all steel tires in rubber tire enterprises in Shandong region was 5.9%; The operating load of semi steel tires in domestic rubber tire enterprises is 7.2%.

According to analysts from SunSirs, the cost of butadiene rubber has significantly decreased and the demand has weakened during the off-season. Although Maoming Petrochemical plans to shut down for maintenance recently, the overall supply of butadiene rubber is still loose, and it is expected that the spot market of butadiene rubber will be weak and consolidate in the future.

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