China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, slashed its ex-works prices for styrene-butadiene rubber by 5-6% effective Wednesday, end-users said.

With the latest cut, Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical is offering SBR1502 in East China at Yuan 10,700/mt, or about $1,364/mt on an import parity basis, down Yuan 700/mt or 6%, from Yuan 11,400/mt on Monday.

For SBR1712 prices, Qilu is offering the grade at Yuan 9,000/mt, down Yuan 500/mt or 5%, from Yuan 9,500/mt on Monday.

The price cuts are a result of poor demand and high synthetic rubber stocks in China.

On June 28, synthetic rubber stocks in warehouses at Qingdao, China's eastern Shandong province, stood at 54,900 mt, down 3% from 56,400 mt on June 14, data from the Qingdao International Rubber Exchange showed.

The revised SBR1502 prices will put downward pressure on butadiene prices, which are being offered by Sinopec at Yuan 8,300/mt. The minimum breakven level for SBR1502 over butadiene feedstock costs is about Yuan 3,700/mt, so the latter should be Yuan 7,000/mt or lower. For SBR1712, the breakeven is Yuan 3,000/mt over butadiene.

SBR is typically used in the threads of pneumatic tires, for conveyer belts and rubber shoes.