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Home > News > Weak Demand Leads to Softening Butadiene Market (September 18, 2026)

Weak Demand Leads to Softening Butadiene Market (September 18, 2026)

Published on 2026-09-18
  1. Daily Summary

① On September 18, Sinopec East China lowered its ex-factory price for butadiene by RMB 300/ton to RMB 13,700/ton, leading to a decline in the downstream synthetic rubber market.

② On September 18, the operating rate of the domestic butadiene industry was 66.71%, an increase of 0.32 percentage points from the previous working day.

  1. Spot Market Overview

Table: Domestic Butadiene Price Summary (Unit: RMB/ton)

Price Type Producer/Region Sep 18 Price Sep 17 Price Change Value Change %
Ex-Factory Quote Sinopec East China 13,700 14,000 -300 -2.14%
Sinopec South China 13,600 13,900 -300 -2.16%
Sinopec North China 13,700 14,000 -300 -2.14%
Sinopec Central China 13,700 14,000 -300 -2.14%
Lianyungang Petrochemical 13,460 14,000 -540 -3.86%
Shenghong Refining & Chemical 13,500 14,000 -500 -3.57%
Dalian Hengli 13,810 14,010 -200 -1.43%
Yantai Wanhua 13,500 13,820 -320 -2.32%
Liaoyang Petrochemical 13,000 13,820 -820 -5.93%
Shenhua Ningmei 13,000 13,300 -300 -2.26%
Inner Mongolia Jiutai 13,000 13,300 -300 -2.26%
Dongming Petrochemical 13,600 -- -- --
Yulong Petrochemical 13,250 13,800 -550 -3.99%
Market Price Shandong Luzhong Delivered 13,550 14,000 -450 -3.21%
Jiangyin Tank Truck Pickup 13,450 13,750 -300 -2.18%
West Bank of Yellow Sea Pickup 13,340 13,830 -490 -3.54%
Key Downstream
BR Rubber Shandong Daqing BR9000 15,000 15,200 -200 -1.32%
SBR Rubber Shandong Qilu 1502 15,400 15,500 -100 -0.65%

Data Source: Chempricehub Information

Based on the delivered price in the Shandong Luzhong region, today's price closed at RMB 13,550/ton, a decrease of RMB 450/ton compared to the previous period. Today, the domestic butadiene market continued to fluctuate weakly. Demand from downstream enterprises remained sluggish, bearish sentiment within the market was strong, and both futures and spot markets for major downstream product synthetic rubber declined. This heightened cautious wait-and-see attitudes among participants, dragging down traders' offers. Actual transactions were skewed towards lower levels, indicating a weakening market trend. The delivered price in the Shandong Luzhong region ranged between RMB 13,500–13,600/ton, while the tank truck pickup price in East China referenced RMB 13,400–13,500/ton.

On September 18, the operating rate of the domestic butadiene industry was 66.71%, up 0.32 percentage points from the previous working day. Regarding theoretical production profit, on September 17, the Japanese naphtha market declined, and Sinopec adjusted its butadiene price down by RMB 200/ton to RMB 14,000/ton. Consequently, the theoretical production profit for butadiene via C4 extraction decreased, with the calculated profit for the C4 extraction process standing at RMB 4,619.76/ton.

  1. Price Forecast

In the short term, weak downstream demand has intensified bearish sentiment in the market. Poor follow-through buying from downstream sectors, combined with a strong wait-and-see atmosphere, is pushing traders to lower their offers. Meanwhile, a slight increase in supply has alleviated pressure on spot liquidity, weakening market support. Therefore, the domestic butadiene market is expected to remain narrow-range and weak.

  1. Related Products

Synthetic Rubber Market: Prices for both butadiene rubber (BR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) declined today. In the Shandong market, Daqing BR9000 prices fell by RMB 200/ton to RMB 15,000/ton, while Qilu SBR 1502 prices dropped by RMB 100/ton to RMB 15,400/ton.

  1. Data Calendar

Table: Domestic Butadiene Data Overview (Units: 10k tons, RMB/ton)

Data Indicator Release Date Previous Period Data Current Period Trend Forecast
Butadiene Port Inventory Wed 17:00 PM 2.37
Butadiene Production Profit Fri 17:00 PM 5,004.23
Butadiene Inventory Analysis Fri 17:00 PM 3.93
Weekly Butadiene Operating Rate Fri 17:00 PM 66.11%
Weekly Butadiene Output Fri 17:00 PM 10.70

Data Source: Chempricehub Information

Notes:

  1. ↓↑ indicates significant fluctuations, highlighting data dimensions with changes exceeding 3%.
  2. ↗↘ indicates minor fluctuations, highlighting data with changes within 0–3%.

Comments

0
  • Hannah Berg 2026-09-18 20:11
    With Sinopec cutting butadiene prices by RMB 300/ton amid weak downstream demand, I see significant margin pressure for producers. The slight rise in capacity utilization to 66.71% won't help if synthetic rubber buyers r..
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