Supply tight stimulus Asian synthetic rubber prices
Zhejiang Xinlei Packaging.Co.Ltd.(China) , https://www.xinleipack.com
South Korea’s LG Chemical Company plans to close the synthetic rubber plant in Daehan, South Korea, in mid-March to suspend maintenance. Its 135,000-ton/year styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) unit and a 55,000-ton/year nitrile rubber unit will undergo a three-week shutdown inspection and a 100,000-ton/year butyl plant. Rubber (BR) device downtime will take up to four weeks. A set of 100,000-ton/year styrene-butadiene rubber plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China, will undergo a one-month shutdown overhaul in April.
Market participants said that Asian styrene-butadiene rubber and butyl rubber prices have risen unilaterally since the fourth quarter of 2010 due to tight supply. According to ICIS data, the price of non-oil grade SBR 1502 in Asia has soared by US$600 since October 2010, and the price in January has risen to US$3,000 to US$3100 (CIF, China); the price of butyl rubber has increased over the same period. For $1,000, the price in January this year has risen to $3,700 to $3,800 (CFR, Northeast Asia).
Coupled with last week's price adjustment, the spot price of butyl rubber in Asia has risen to 3,900 to 4,000 US dollars (CFR, Asia), and the spot price of non-oil grade SBR 1502 has risen to 3,300 to 3,400 US dollars (CFR, Asia).
A medium-sized tire manufacturer in the Asian region said: “From the current situation, it has been difficult to continue to digest the increase in raw material costs because we cannot simultaneously increase tire prices. If raw material costs continue to rise, we have no choice but to cut output. Traders said that although spot prices have skyrocketed, current spot supplies for SBR and BR are scarce due to limited supply.