1、 Price trend

According to the bulk list data of the Business News Agency, the price of pure benzene rose slightly this week. On March 6, the price of pure benzene was 7200-7420 yuan/ton (the average price was 7310 yuan/ton). On Thursday (March 9), the price of pure benzene was 7200-7400 yuan/ton (the average price was 7300 yuan/ton), up 1.03% from last week and down 13.28% from the same period last year.

2、 Analysis and comment

The fundamentals of pure benzene continue to be weak, and the downstream is more wait-and-see, and the purchase intention is general; Crude oil continued to fall in the week, and the cost of pure benzene market formed a negative pressure; Downstream styrene slightly strengthened, boosting the pure benzene market.

The price of Sinopec pure benzene rose to 7200 yuan/ton this week (the price in Shandong and Hebei increased by 100 yuan/ton).

In terms of crude oil, this week’s crude oil market was shrouded in a negative atmosphere. The market was worried that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates aggressively, which would add to the sharp increase in the United States refined oil storage. Concerns about the future economic and demand prospects remained.

Downstream

3、 Aftermarket forecast

Pure benzene market: the increase in the main listing boosted market confidence, and the price stopped falling and rebounded, but the downstream resisted high-priced raw materials, and the trading volume was low; Shandong Refinery also resisted high-price pure benzene, and the number of transactions in the day decreased compared with yesterday. Overnight crude oil and styrene prices fell, but the main unit price of pure benzene supported the market. It is expected that the pure benzene in East China will rebound slightly today.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the United States has increased significantly, the market’s concern about the economic recession has increased, and the international oil price has fallen three times. NYMEX crude oil futures 04 contract fell by US $75.72/barrel, or 1.23%, by US $0.94/barrel; ICE oil distribution futures 05 contract fell $81.59/barrel, or 1.29%, by $1.07/barrel. The main contract of China INE crude oil futures 2304 fell 12.8 yuan to 560.4 yuan/barrel and 3.6 yuan to 556.8 yuan/barrel in the evening.

Core logic: Yesterday, the price of the East China market opened at a low price and rebounded slightly. The transaction was light. The buying and wait-and-see were obvious, and the market was bargain-hunting. The offer in Shandong is firm. Downstream and traders were cautious about high-price pure benzene, the pace of purchase slowed down and the transaction weakened. We will continue to pay attention to the impact of crude oil and external market price trends, pure benzene port inventory dynamics and pure benzene and downstream device dynamics on prices.