Nitrile Butadiene Rubber Prices Nosedive Further in China

Nitrile Butadiene Rubber prices have been unable to arrest the slide after a slump in early May 2022. Market sentiments have been deteriorating in the last couple of months, and China has started lifting restrictions over the key cities after months of lockdowns, however, another covid scare has hit the South Asian country. Demand and supply dynamics have shown little changes while China's logistics and transportation remain snug.

As of week, ending 10th June 2022, Nitrile Butadiene Rubber prices have declined and were assessed at USD 3195-3220 per MT Ex-Shanghai.

Demand has witnessed a limited change in the trend and no significant alteration in global consumption market sentiment. China has been a key piece of the global value chain puzzle, it not only exports elastomers and thermoplastics but also imports large quantities of the same from the world. Hence, the volatility in trading and void left by the consumption slump in China's domestic market has been felt in the global market. Production levels have also come down where several manufacturers have reported declining production rates amid ample supply in the market.

Meanwhile, feedstock markets have again picked up as Acrylonitrile and Butadiene climbed further in the wake of ongoing soaring energy and upstream prices, increasing the overall cost of production. Despite the rising cost of production, there has been no change in the final quotation in the wake of weak demand sentiment in the Chinese market. Butadiene prices have again picked up in China after stabilizing in mid-May 2022, since then Butadiene prices have aggressively climbed, and in the latest trading, prices of Butadiene were assessed at USD 1790-1810 per MT in the domestic market and have gained more than 6% on a weekly basis.

According to ChemAnalyst, “Nitrile Butadiene Rubber prices are expected to remain weak in the short term as demand pattern is likely to remain subdued while the domestic market has shown ample material availability. Feedstock markets are expected to gain further due to ongoing volatility in energy and upstream markets.”