2026 WEEK 13 MATERIAL PRICE IN CHINA

Week 13 Rubber Market Commentary Report

The conflict continues, and prices are rising.

In Week 13, the Chinese rubber market showed a clear divergence in performance. Affected by the escalation of the Iran situation and disruptions to petrochemical raw material supplies, the synthetic rubber sector experienced a broad and sharp rise across the board. Butadiene average price surged to 18,140 RMB/MT, up approximately 20% from the previous week. Butadiene rubber (BR9000) rose to 17,590 RMB/MT(highest reaches 18000RMB/MT). Styrene-butadiene rubber (1712), solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene (2564S), SBS, SEBS, and various carboxylated nitrile and styrene-butadiene latex grades all increased by 800–2,000 RMB/MT. Nitrile rubber, EPDM, chloroprene rubber, and other varieties also strengthened simultaneously.

In contrast, natural rubber remained relatively stable. RSS3 in Shanghai held steady at 19,640 RMB/MT(20# NR is much cheaper than this level), natural rubber latex rose slightly to 12,510 RMB/MT, while palm oil declined marginally.

Both TBR and PCR tire prices remained unchanged. Overall, synthetic rubber prices were strongly driven by surging costs of crude oil and petrochemical feedstocks this week, resulting in a concentrated upward movement with significantly enhanced cost support. Natural rubber, constrained by demand-side factors, demonstrated relative resilience.

In the short term, if the Iran conflict continues, synthetic rubber prices are expected to remain firm. Downstream tire manufacturers will likely face further increases in cost pressure.