From March 10 to March 17, 2022, the ex factory price of hydrogenated benzene in North China was lowered, from 7283.33 yuan/ton at the end of last week to 7183.33 yuan/ton at the end of this week, down 1.37%.

In terms of crude oil, the price of crude oil rose in early March, and China, as the largest importer and second largest consumer of crude oil, has a profound impact on the oil market. The recent strong performance of macroeconomic data has further strengthened market bullish expectations. The official manufacturing PMI in February was 52.6, setting a record for the fastest expansion since February 2012; The PMI of Caixin manufacturing industry in February was 51.6, the first expansion in nearly seven months, and the economic recovery boosted expectations of oil demand. The late collapse of a US Silicon Valley bank, coupled with the US inflation report data that was not optimistic, triggered concerns about financial risks in the market. In addition, Credit Suisse’s unease hit the financial market, putting pressure on risky assets such as stock markets and crude oil, and adding to the negative impact of the US crude oil inventory growth that exceeded expectations, further dragging down oil demand and causing crude oil prices to plummet. On March 17th, international crude oil futures fell. The main contract settlement price for US WTI crude oil futures was $66.93 per barrel, down $1.59 or 2.3%. The settlement price of the main contract for Brent crude oil futures was $72.77 per barrel, down $1.52 or 2.0%.

The ex-factory price of Sinopec pure benzene increased by 100 yuan/ton on March 8, 2023, and is currently implemented at 7200 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 7150 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 7200 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 7053 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 7100 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 7200 yuan/ton.

The K-bar chart of commodity prices uses the concept of a price trend K-line to reflect weekly or monthly price changes in the form of a histogram. Investors can buy and sell investments based on the changes in the K-bar chart. Red indicates: rising; Green indicates a decline; The height of the K column indicates the range of fluctuation. The K-column chart of weekly pure benzene shows that after entering July, the price of pure benzene has continuously decreased, with a slight recovery in late August and early September. The price mainly decreased from October to December, with a recovery in January and a slight increase for five consecutive weeks after February.

Industry chain: The overall decline in the pure benzene market this week, with both crude oil and styrene weakening at the beginning of the week, affecting the mindset of the pure benzene market. The market has a strong wait-and-see sentiment and relatively cold trading. In the middle of the week, the styrene market strengthened, and the market mentality slightly improved, leading to some inbound inquiries. By the end of the week, crude oil and styrene had fallen again, and market sentiment had declined again. This week, the overall performance of the pure benzene market was weak, dragging down the trend of the hydrogenation benzene market, with the price falling mainly during the week.

The overall performance of the hydrogenation benzene market this week was weak, with market prices reduced by 150-250 yuan/ton during the week, and factory prices in the main production areas decreased by about 100 yuan/ton. The supply side has not changed much this week, and the demand side has also been relatively stable. The main factor affecting market price fluctuations during the week is the trend of pure benzene. Overall, the current performance of crude oil is weak, with insufficient support for pure benzene, and negative factors dominating. It is expected that the overall weak operation of the industry chain market is dominated in the short term