# Rubber chemicals: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/correlation/ Rubber chemicals, such as vulcanisation accelerators, antioxidants and antiozonants, are mixed into tyre and rubber compounds. They are made largely from aniline and other benzene derivatives, so petrochemical costs and tyre output set prices. Proxy **US PPI: other basic organic chemicals** index (BLS base period) · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 There is no free public price for rubber chemicals itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item. #### What its price moves with Selected link ##### Rubber chemicals and Natural rubber Monthly changes 0.14 little or none correlation 12-month changes 0.27 weak correlation Last 5 years -0.08 monthly changes Lead or lag +2 mo Natural rubber tends to lead by 2 months (r 0.20) Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 Rubber chemicals ≈ 249.6 × (Natural rubber)^-0.08 R² 0.03 On this fit, a 10% higher natural rubber price goes with a −0.7% lower rubber chemicals price over the long run. Units: index (BLS base period) and $/kg. The fit is loose, so treat the function as a rough guide. Chart: Rubber chemicals and Natural rubber prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, log scale Both prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size. Chart: Rubber chemicals price against Natural rubber price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2006), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic. Commodity [Rbr Natural rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rubber/)Main customer 0.14 Tyre makers buy rubber chemicals in proportion to the natural rubber they process, so tyre output drives both. Their prices move differently, though: monthly moves correlate at only 0.14 and yearly at 0.27, because rubber prices are driven by Asian plantation supply. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Chemical [SBR Styrene-butadiene rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/sbr/)Main customer 0.41 Synthetic rubber and rubber chemicals share tyre demand and petrochemical feedstocks. The synthetic rubber index correlates with the proxy at 0.41 for monthly moves and 0.73 for yearly moves, a stronger link than natural rubber. moderate co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Chemical [Bz Benzene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/benzene/)Aniline feed 0.29 Accelerators and the antiozonant 6PPD are made from aniline, which comes from benzene via nitrobenzene. Against the petrochemical index proxy, monthly moves correlate at 0.29 and yearly moves at 0.64. weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Commodity [S Sulfur](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/)Vulcanising agent 0.16 Sulphur cross-links rubber during vulcanisation, and accelerators control how fast that happens, so the two are always used together. The sulphur proxy is a sulphuric acid index; monthly moves correlate at 0.16 and yearly moves at 0.71. little or none co-movement month to month · 225 months Show charts Commodity [Zn Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zinc/)Activator 0.03 Zinc oxide activates sulphur vulcanisation and is used alongside accelerators in almost every tyre. Despite this, monthly moves correlate at just 0.03, as zinc metal follows the global metals cycle rather than chemical costs. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Energy [ICV Combustion road vehicles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/)Tyre demand −0.15 Vehicle output and the existing fleet set tyre demand, and with it rubber chemical volumes. The vehicle proxy is a car price index, not output, and monthly moves correlate at -0.15, so it does not capture this demand link. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/overview/index.md) - [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/routes/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/production/index.md) - [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/feedstocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/movement/index.md) - [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/regulation/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/links/index.md)