Butadiene prices have shown mixed sentiments in the USA and the European market during the fourth week of September 2022. The high production cost in Germany led to the demand drop, while in the US, the inventories are high with sufficient product availability, weakening pricing sentiment.

As per the data, Butadiene prices have risen slightly in the Germany, Netherland, UK, and Belgium markets in the wake of mounting energy prices, which has exacerbated the overall inflationary pressure in the country. In addition, the domestic cost of production continues to remain elevated due to soaring energy and operating costs, resulting in weak output rates. According to the latest data, the Eurozone Manufacturing output Index has low in September amid the energy crunch in the region. Furthermore, Manufacturing Purchasing Index (PMI) fell from 49.6 points to 48.5 points in September 2022. A manufacturer based in Germany quoted that "the manufacturing sector is bearing the brunt of the problems. Supply chain problems still disturb the production, but weaker demand has caused backlogs of work to fall as new orders decrease quickly." On the demand front, offtakes from the downstream derivative Synthetic rubber industries have remained stable to weak in the European market. According to the ifo, the Business climate index fell from 88.6 points to 84.3 points in September, compared with the previous months.

Meanwhile, bearish demand from the Synthetic rubber industries has resulted in the Butadiene price drop in the USA market. On the other side, the manufacturer has sufficient availability to cater to domestic demand. In addition, easing in the energy prices has resulted in the low production costs of Butadiene. Additionally, the nation's recessionary conditions, where the PMI index has been declining for a year, contributed to a significant decline in demand. Data shows that US Butadiene prices were offered at USD 1590/MT with a week-on-on-week declination of around 2.9% during the same time frame.

According to the ChemAnalyst estimation, "Butadiene prices are likely to rise in the upcoming weeks in the USA and Europe market due to the further expectation of improving demand from downstream and supply restrictions."