Styrene-butadiene rubber: Correlation
Prices it moves with, and why
Styrene-butadiene rubber is polymerised from butadiene and styrene and goes mainly into car tyres. Its price follows those two monomers, natural rubber as a substitute, and tyre demand from new vehicles and replacements.
Price index US PPI: synthetic rubber incl. SBR and ethylene-propylene index (BLS base period) · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026What its price moves with
Selected linkStyrene-butadiene rubber and Butadiene
Monthly changes 0.36 weak correlation 12-month changes 0.66 moderate correlation Last 5 years 0.56 monthly changes Lead or lag +1 mo Butadiene tends to lead by 1 month (r 0.48) Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 Styrene-butadiene rubber ≈ 43.7 × (Butadiene)0.27 R² 0.21 On this fit, a 10% higher butadiene price goes with a 2.6% higher styrene-butadiene rubber price over the long run. Units: index (BLS base period) and index (BLS base period). The fit is loose, so treat the function as a rough guide.Chart: Styrene-butadiene rubber and Butadiene 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: Styrene-butadiene rubber price against Butadiene 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.Butadiene is the larger monomer by weight and the most volatile cost. The petrochemical proxy moves with the synthetic rubber index at 0.36 monthly and 0.66 yearly, and more closely over the last five years at 0.56.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsStyrene is the second monomer and adds stiffness and grip. The cyclic intermediates proxy moves with the rubber index at 0.41 monthly and 0.69 yearly. Its price follows benzene, so aromatics markets enter tyre costs.
moderate co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsTyre makers blend natural and synthetic rubber and shift the mix when the price gap widens. TSR20 moves with the synthetic index at only 0.11 monthly and 0.46 yearly, since natural rubber follows weather and smallholder supply in Asia.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsCarbon black reinforces SBR in every tyre, and both are made from oil-derived feeds and sold to the same buyers. The carbon black index moves with the rubber index at 0.33 monthly and 0.62 yearly.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsOil sets the cost of naphtha, which yields both butadiene and benzene. Brent moves with the rubber index at 0.10 monthly and 0.52 yearly, a loose tie as tyre contracts reset slowly.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsVehicle output and tyre replacement drive most SBR demand. The vehicle price proxy does not move with the rubber index, 0.03 monthly, because car prices follow model cycles, not rubber costs.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsHow 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.