In late July, the Polybutadiene Rubber (PBR) market experienced a slight price uptick, supported by a modest recovery in the tire sector and stable market sentiment despite lower raw material costs. Increased production at key Chinese facilities was met with steady downstream offtake, keeping inventories in check. Tire manufacturing activity improved, prompting cautious optimism among suppliers and traders for stimulating the PBR accumulation driving the price upside.
As of last week of July, the PBR market saw a slight price increase, providing a brief reprieve from the modest downward pricing trend. A modest recovery in the tire industry downstream helped to sustain this modest upward movement, which took place in spite of falling raw material costs. Because butadiene, a crucial feedstock for PBR, did not exhibit any notable changes, market sentiment stayed stable, limiting cost pressure and containing significant swings in PBR value in the respective period.
Production at key Shunding sites nudged higher in July, with plant utilization ticking up to around 68%. That momentum came as Jinzhou Petrochemical, Heze Kexin, and Yanshan Petrochemical brought their PBR units back online after earlier shutdowns. Even with the slight rise in output, inventory stayed manageable, mostly because downstream buyers continued to lift volumes steadily. That steady off-take helped keep the supply chain flowing without putting pressure on storage or prompting producers to chase aggressive volumes.
On the demand side, tire manufacturers showed signs of modest recovery. Between July 9th and July 22nd, construction rates of semi-steel tires among Chinese producers rose to around 75%, while all-steel tire capacity utilization in Shandong hovered near 65%. This improvement supported a slight rebound in PBR demand. Major suppliers observed cautious optimism, with traders holding firm on offers amid firm input costs and stable-to-improving downstream demand. Market participants are currently adopting wait and watch approach towards inventories management as the accumulation of the inventories are done on a needy basis.
As per ChemAnalyst's forecast, The price of PBR is anticipated to rise in the coming sessions. This anticipation of an increase in the PBR price is majorly align with the butadiene market, which is anticipated to grow further, offering significant cost support for the production of PBR. The strength of the demand-side has been reinforced by a slight increase in downstream tire production. Overall, it is anticipated that the PBR market will continue to rise in the near future due to stable end-use sector momentum and firm feedstock pricing.
