Players: Asian butadiene market might extend weakening trend

In Asia, butadiene cost based on FOB Korea term spent the whole final quarter of 2016 climbing up as limited supply and healthy demand in China cushioned the trend. Prices hit multi years high during late January and hold steady until earlier this month and since then, has shredded nearly $1000/ton to reach $2100/ton FOB Korea term, as shown in the following graph.

It is reported that butadiene market loses momentum due to persistent weak demand in China and many market participants have expressed expectation for further reduction in the near term. A market source said, “The downstream ABS market is also facing strong resistance and very likely that butadiene costs might breach below the $2000/ton threshold in the coming days. We have withdrawn to the side-line to monitor further development since energy market plunged.”