In the first half of May, the market for butadiene rubber weakened and declined. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, as of May 15th, the domestic price of butadiene rubber was 11100 yuan/ton, a decrease of 2.46% from 11380 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month. The price of raw material butadiene has decreased, and the cost of cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber has declined; During the cycle, the factory price of cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber suppliers has been adjusted twice (first increased and then decreased), and merchant offers have slightly decreased. According to the monitoring of Business Society, as of May 15th, the factory price of butadiene rubber at Sinopec North China Sales Company was reported at 11000 yuan/ton. As of May 15th, the mainstream market price of butadiene rubber in East China was 10800-11300 yuan/ton.

In the first half of May, the supply of butadiene rubber slightly increased, and there are still plans to restart devices in the later stage, making it difficult to alleviate the pressure on the supply of butadiene rubber in the short term.

In the first half of May, the price of raw material butadiene declined weakly, and the cost of cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber declined. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, as of May 15th, the price of butadiene was 8281 yuan/ton, a decrease of 6.44% from 8851 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month.

The natural rubber market slightly increased in the first half of May, providing slight support for cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, as of May 15th, the price of natural rubber was 11880 yuan/ton, an increase of 3.39% from 11490 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month.

The tire operating rate slightly decreased in the first half of May, which had a strong demand for rubber support but was weaker compared to the previous period. It is understood that as of mid May 2023, the operating load of all steel tires for rubber tire enterprises in Shandong region is 6.3%; The operating load of semi steel tires for domestic rubber tire enterprises is 7.00%.

Future Market Forecast: Business Society analysts believe that in the near future, some butadiene rubber units will restart and there are also expectations of restarting some units in the future, resulting in increased pressure on the supply side of butadiene rubber; Downstream construction has slightly decreased, resulting in poor procurement of butadiene rubber. Although natural rubber prices have slightly increased, natural rubber inventory is still accumulating, and short-term support for butadiene rubber is not optimistic. Overall, it is expected that butadiene rubber will experience weak consolidation in the short term.