1、 Price trend

According to the bulk list data of Business Society, pure benzene rose first, then fell, and then stabilized this month, with relatively low price fluctuations. On March 1st, the price was between 7000-7420 yuan/ton (with an average price of 7210 yuan/ton); On March 31st, the price was between 7153-7300 yuan/ton (average price 7227 yuan/ton), an increase of 0.11% this month and a decrease of 8.86% compared to the same period last year.

2、 Analysis and Review

This month, the pure benzene market was hit by multiple bearish factors, with prices fluctuating and falling. 1、 Crude oil fell broadly, with a bearish cost side. 2、 The Asian American arbitrage window has closed, and the domestic price of pure benzene in China is high, resulting in a high import volume of pure benzene in February. And the overall supply of pure benzene in the market is sufficient. 3、 Downstream profitability is poor, styrene continues to decline, and market interest in purchasing pure benzene is average, dragging down pure benzene on the demand side.

This month, Sinopec has raised the price of pure benzene by a total of 300 yuan/ton to 7300 yuan/ton.

Downstream aspect

3、 Future Market Forecast

The spring maintenance peak of refineries in the United States has ended, and demand may increase, coupled with global supply tightening, leading to an increase in international oil prices. NYMEX crude oil futures 05 contract rose by $74.37/barrel, or 1.92%, by $1.40/barrel; ICE oil futures 05 contract rose by $0.99 per barrel, or 1.26%, at $79.27 per barrel. The main contract for China INE crude oil futures, 2305, rose 0.9 yuan to 524.4 yuan/barrel, and rose 4.1 yuan to 528.5 yuan/barrel in overnight trading.

External market: FOB South Korea increased by $6 to $964/ton, CFR China increased by $6 to $968.5/ton, and FOB Southeast Asia increased by $6 to $927.5/ton. FOB Rotterdam fell by $10 to $1000 per ton, while FOB USG fell by 3 cents to 379 cents per gallon.

The short-term weakness of fundamentals is difficult to improve. East China ports are expected to continue to accumulate, with sufficient supply on the market. In the short term, pure benzene will continue to show a weak trend, and we will wait and see if the cost and demand sides can improve. Continue to pay attention to the trend of crude oil and external markets, as well as the impact of the dynamics of pure benzene and downstream devices, and changes in demand on the price of pure benzene.