Natural rubber trades at RMB 19,260/t, up 0.42%, while butadiene rubber sits at RMB 17,155/t, up 1.15%. Both grades climb, but butadiene rubber moves faster, pulling the NR-over-BR premium down to RMB 2,105/t from its earlier high.

On the butadiene side, plant maintenance keeps feedstock tight and underpins synthetic rubber cost; natural rubber still finds floor support from Southeast Asian rainfall and cropping rhythms, though its gain is milder.

For tire makers, a narrower premium shrinks the cost edge of blending more synthetic rubber, yet the joint rise pushes them to price raw material earlier. Plants settling in dollars use the yuan's low at 6.6558 to flatten part of the natural-rubber dollar book and lock some cost.

Down the channel, distributor inventory turns a beat slower; the price rise first sticks at the provincial dealer layer, and transmission to end users lags, while warehouse-receipt financing lines tighten in step.