Styrene-butadiene rubber: Trading
No SBR futures, so traders watch Shanghai BR
What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.Who buys, and where
- China
- South Korea
- Russia
- Poland and Western Europe
- Thailand
- Japan
Who sells, and from where
- India
- ASEAN tyre plants
- China
- Turkey and Eastern Europe
- Mexico
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| SBR 1502 CFR China and East China domestic | ICIS, SunSirs, Mysteel | spot, daily or weekly |
| SBR 1502 and 1712 FD NWE | ICIS | monthly |
| SBR CFR India | Polymerupdate | weekly |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Futures Exchange | butadiene rubber (BR) futures, listed 2023 (indicative) | no SBR contract; BR futures and SHFE natural rubber futures are the nearest hedges |
Contract types
- monthly or quarterly contracts with tyre makers, often linked to butadiene
- spot sales by container
- captive supply within tyre groups (Goodyear, Michelin)
Traders and distributors
- producer sales offices
- Asian synthetic rubber traders
- Indian distributors
How Indian buyers price it
- Indian tyre makers price ESBR on import parity (CFR India) less or plus duties; Reliance sets domestic list prices.
- DGTR final findings of 20 March 2026 recommended five-year anti-dumping duties on ESBR: EU $213/t; Japan $272/t; Korea $51/t (Kumho) and $134/t (others); Russia $319/t; Thailand $109/t (BST) and $195/t (others). Investigation period Oct 2023-Sep 2024 (ERJ, Mar 2026).
- Earlier ESBR duties (from 2017) lapsed after the finance ministry declined DGTR's extension recommendation in October 2022 (ERJ, Nov 2022).
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Sep 2025 | $1,095/t butadiene | CFR China | S&P Global Platts via butadiene tile |
| Nov 2025 | CNY7,021/t (about $988/t) butadiene | China domestic average | GlobalData via Just Auto, Dec 2025 |
| Dec 2025 | EUR720/t (about $837/t) butadiene | Europe contract | GlobalData via Just Auto, Dec 2025 |
| 2025 | SBR levels not published in sources reached | n/a | SunSirs pages not reachable |
Good sources to follow
European Rubber Journalfreemium newsletter · Crainsynthetic rubber markets, trade remedies and plant news
Just Auto (GlobalData Rubber Bulletin coverage)free newsletter · GlobalDatamonthly synthetic rubber and butadiene trends
S&P Global Commodity Insights chemicals newsfreemium newsletter · S&P Globalbutadiene and rubber prices
Taxguru trade remedy notificationsfree research site · TaxguruIndian DGTR and customs duty notifications