London (Platts)--25May2011/905 am EDT/1305 GMT
The global butadiene market is currently enjoying record high prices, with the US Gulf Coast, Europe and Asia all trading at previously unseen price levels in recent weeks.
Yet there were signs of a potential fall in the global value of butadiene as Asian sources reported weakening Chinese demand this week, while there were fears in the US Gulf Coast market that imported natural rubber demand could dampen previous strong demand for butadiene.
All three major regions have been trading at all-time highs. For the week ending May 20 spot CIF US Gulf Coast prices closed at 192.50 cents/pound ($4,232/mt). This compared with a spot price of 108 cents/lb on May 21, 2010, when the market was also considered as tight. In Europe, the FOB Rotterdam market closed at Eur2,795/mt ($3,932/mt) Tuesday versus Eur1,695/mt this time last year. Meanwhile the FOB Korea market was valued at $3,799/mt at close May 20, $1,598/mt higher than the same time last year.
But sources in Asia have recently begun to report a slowdown in Chinese buying, with demand falling from the onset of May as the market has become well-supplied, said local sources. An end-user was offered a 1,500 mt spot cargo from Sinopec Maoming for about $3,450-3,500/mt CFR China last week and there were few parties interested in the parcel. The spot cargo was in the market for more than a week, the end-user said.
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