Europe butadiene (BD) editor Melissa Hurley discusses the current market conditions and challenges facing the global market with editors Ai Teng Lim, Stephanie Cervantes and BD analyst Gawaine Preston.

BD Asia prices hit two-year lows in November due to heavy deep-sea imports from Europe, US, and South America.
NE Asia received 250,000 tonnes of deep-sea cargoes in first three quarters of 2025 (up 100,000 tonnes versus 2024).
Local production in China impacted by maintenance; BR futures may influence BD pricing sentiment
European export prices to Asia dropped sharply, indications below naphtha cost
January-July 2025 European BD exports to Asia four times larger than 2024 volumes
Local European demand underperforming; suppliers extracting less BD
Crude C4 (CC4) length persists despite low cracker rates
Longer term CC4 availability in Europe diminished due to cracker closures
Domestic US market steady to long; tire imports from Asia hurt US tire manufacturing.
US BD production stable; supply long; prices near breakeven resulting in suppliers considering or undergoing co-cracking activities
Minor Q1 turnaround in 2026 running concurrently alongside major cracker turnaround could keep supply and demand fundamentals balanced

Additional reporting from Industry Analysts Elaine Zhang and Ann Sun.

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