According to the data from the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, from March 2 to March 9, 2026, the domestic butadiene market price significantly increased from 10093.33 yuan/ton to 14540 yuan/ton, with a weekly increase of 44.06%, setting a new high for recent market price increases. This week, the domestic butadiene market experienced a strong surge, driven by multiple favorable factors such as the soaring cost of crude oil prices, intensified supply side tightness, and strong demand side support, resulting in a significant increase in market prices.
On the cost side: The core driving force behind the rise in the domestic butadiene market this week comes from strong support from the cost side. International crude oil prices have surged significantly due to geopolitical disturbances, directly driving up the production cost of butadiene. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the current surge in oil prices began with attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran around March 1st. Iran immediately took countermeasures to prevent oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, directly triggering panic in the global crude oil market. As the core channel for about 20% of global crude oil shipping trade, the obstruction of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz directly led to a sharp tightening of global crude oil supply expectations. Coupled with the continuous escalation of military conflicts between the United States and Israel and Iran, market panic further fermented, driving international oil prices to experience a historic surge. As of March 6th, NYMEX crude oil futures have taken the lead in a surge, with the active April crude oil contract closing up $9.89, an increase of 12.21%, and settling at $90.90 per barrel. This week’s cumulative increase is $23.88, an increase of 35.63%, marking the largest weekly increase since 1983. During the same period, Brent crude oil futures in May closed up $7.28, an increase of 8.52%, with a settlement price of $92.69 per barrel, achieving a sixth consecutive trading day of gains. The cumulative increase this week reached 27.2%. Both major crude oil futures contracts broke through the $90 mark, and on March 9th, they even reached the $110/barrel mark at one point, with an unprecedented surge in market bullish sentiment.
Supply side: This week, the domestic butadiene supply side has shown a tight situation, and the operation of mainstream production enterprises’ facilities in China has further exacerbated the tight supply situation. From the perspective of device operation, several mainstream enterprises’ butadiene units have maintained a shutdown state this week. Although some units have been restarted one after another, the overall capacity release is limited and has not effectively alleviated the market supply gap. At the same time, some domestic production enterprises have expectations of equipment load reduction, coupled with the rapid rise in butadiene prices this week, the reluctance of merchants to sell is evident, and the shortage of low-priced goods is prominent. In addition, the Asian butadiene market has strengthened synchronously this week, with China’s CFR reporting at $1415-1423/ton, an increase of $40/ton compared to the previous period. The improvement in the export market has indirectly reduced domestic market supply, further supporting the upward trend of domestic butadiene prices.
Demand side:
This week, the domestic demand for butadiene has shown strong performance, and the good trend of the downstream butadiene rubber market has provided strong support for butadiene demand. From the perspective of the butadiene rubber market, most butadiene rubber units maintained high load operation this week. Although the Yanshan Petrochemical unit did not operate at full capacity and Zhenhua New Materials maintained reduced load operation, the overall capacity utilization rate remained high, and the demand for butadiene procurement remained stable. At the same time, downstream tire enterprises resumed work and production smoothly after the holiday, and production scheduling gradually returned to normal levels. The capacity utilization rate of tire sample enterprises is expected to have a slight room for improvement, indirectly driving the growth of demand for butadiene rubber and thereby increasing the demand for butadiene procurement.
Market forecast:
Overall, the domestic butadiene market has achieved a significant increase this week, driven by the three major factors of cost, supply, and demand. The short-term market strength pattern is expected to continue, but in the long run, attention needs to be paid to the impact of multiple variables on the market.
In the short term, the geopolitical situation remains tense, and international crude oil prices are expected to remain volatile at high levels, with continued cost support; On the supply side, the maintenance of some domestic butadiene units is still ongoing, and the expectation of enterprise load reduction has not been eliminated. The tight market supply pattern is difficult to quickly alleviate; On the demand side, the high load operation trend of the butadiene rubber plant continues, and the demand of tire enterprises is gradually recovering. The support for butadiene demand is still strong, coupled with strong bullish sentiment in the market. It is expected that the domestic butadiene market will continue its rapid upward trend in the short term, and there is still room for price increase. In the future, special attention should be paid to the trend of crude oil prices, the operation of facilities, and changes in downstream demand.