Impact of Positive feedstock trends on Global Isobutylene Market

The global Isobutylene market has continued to climb since the beginning of April. Low inventories levels and growing demand from the downstream industries have resulted in a continuous rise in Isobutylene prices. Soaring crude oil prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have impacted feedstock Isobutane prices, creating an imbalance in market dynamics, and resulting in a supply chain disruption.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the demand for Isobutylene from the elastomer segment has surged. Isobutylene is used as the monomer to produce various polymers, including Butyl Rubber and Polyisobutylene. Manufacturers have had to raise the cost of Isobutylene production due to the continuous price inflation of raw materials. Even though the rampaging spread of Covid in China and the implementation of lockdown negatively influenced the production activities, it did not have much impact on the demand. Consequently, shortage of supplies with disrupted factory operations, inter transport disruption, and closure of ports have weighed on the prices of Isobutylene in the Chinese market. According to the ChemAnalyst database, the prices inclined by 4% on a month-on-month basis in April.

The Production and trade activities were hampered in China, thereby, resulting in high maritime charges due to container shortages, which led to the supply shortfall in the Indian market as it majorly imports Isobutylene from China. Prices of Isobutylene increased by 1.5% on a month-on-month basis in India. Similarly, the European market sentiments showcased an upward trend in the Isobutylene due to the increasing crude oil value. Furthermore, due to the extended energy crisis in the European region, certain production units reduced their running rates to safeguard their margins. 

As per ChemAnalyst, "Prices of Isobutylene is expected to surge in the upcoming weeks due to further rise in the demand from the end-user Elastomer segment. Furthermore, as crude oil prices are forecasted to increase, these are also likely to impact feedstock Isobutane prices."