Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) recently announced that it plans to increase the prices of its synthetic rubber and thermoplastic elastomer, among other products, starting from shipments on April 16. Prices per kilogram are set to rise by at least 25 yen ($0.24) for butadiene rubber, styrene–butadiene rubber, styrenic thermoplastic elastomer and hydrogenated styrenic elastomer. Meanwhile, the company’s clear styrenic block...