Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry Core Insights - The price of raw material butadiene has decreased, negatively impacting the cost of nitrile rubber [1] - Nitrile rubber production is stable, but there is an expectation of reduced supply due to planned maintenance at the Lanzhou Petrochemical facility [1][5] - Downstream factories are primarily purchasing based on immediate needs or depleting previous inventory, leading to a flat market trading environment [2] Market Overview - The average price of butadiene in the Shandong market is 9350 CNY/ton, down 535 CNY (5.41%) from the previous period [3] - The average price of nitrile rubber in the Hengshui market is 16100 CNY/ton, down 60 CNY (0.37%) from the previous period [3] - The overall trend in the nitrile rubber industry chain shows a decline in average prices, with butadiene experiencing the most significant drop [3][9] Supply and Demand Analysis - Current nitrile rubber production is approximately 0.54 million tons, a decrease of 0.02 million tons (3.57%) from the previous period [4][17] - The capacity utilization rate is at 91.70%, down 1.17 percentage points from the previous period [4][27] - Inventory levels for nitrile rubber have increased slightly to 1.31 million tons, up 2.34% from the previous period [4][38] Cost and Profit Analysis - The theoretical production cost of nitrile rubber is 11673.87 CNY/ton, with a production profit of 4184.13 CNY/ton, which has increased by 473.25 CNY (12.75%) from the previous period [22][25] - The profit for butadiene is 2720.44 CNY/ton, down 451.05 CNY (14.22%) from the previous period, while the profit for acrylonitrile is negative at -477 CNY/ton [22][25] Future Market Outlook - The market is expected to experience weak fluctuations, with the Lanzhou Petrochemical facility's maintenance likely to reduce supply [45][47] - The anticipated price range for Lanzhou 3305E nitrile rubber is between 15900-16200 CNY/ton [45]