From February 10 to February 17, 2023, the bidding price of crude benzene increased by a narrow margin, from 5593 yuan/ton at the end of last week to 5681 yuan/ton at the end of this week, with a weekly increase of 1.57%.

The crude oil in the week of February 17 fell for four consecutive trading days. The core logic is the supply and demand game under the influence of macro pressure, and the bearish atmosphere in the market is intensified. Oil prices fell sharply on Friday, nearly 3%. The settlement price of the main contract of US WTI crude oil futures was US $76.55/barrel, down US $2.19 or 2.8%. The settlement price of the main contract of Brent crude oil futures was US $83.00/barrel, down US $2.14 or 2.5%. The market is worried that further interest rate hikes in the United States will drag down demand, and the oil market will suffer from a sharp increase in crude oil and refined oil storage. On the macro level, the US economic data showed strong performance, and the Fed officials made many statements to show hawkish behavior. The data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on the 14th showed that the inflation situation in the United States rebounded in January, with CPI rising 6.4% year on year. The month-on-month increase was 0.5%, the highest since October 2022. Both the month-on-month and year-on-year growth exceeded the market consensus. The market worries that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates are rampant, which brings pressure to the crude oil market. According to the crude oil analysts of Business News, in the short term, the negative feedback of the market to the macro pressure is gradually digested, and the oil market’s falling space may be narrowed. The game between supply and demand will continue to dominate the market. In the future, the supply side needs to pay attention to the actual implementation of the re-release of reserves in the United States, and the demand side needs to pay attention to China’s crude oil imports and refined oil consumption.

The ex-factory price of Sinopec pure benzene increased by 100 yuan/ton on January 13, 2023, and the current price is 6950 yuan/ton.

Other enterprises: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 7330 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 6900 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 6853 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 6900 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 6900 yuan/ton.

The commodity price K-bar chart uses the concept of price trend K-line to reflect the weekly or monthly price changes in the form of bar chart. Investors can buy and sell investments according to the changes in the K-bar chart. Red indicates: rising; Green means: down; The height of the K column indicates the range of rise and fall. The weekly K-column chart of pure benzene shows that after entering July, the price of pure benzene continued to decline, slightly recovered at the end of August and the beginning of September, and the price mainly decreased from October to December, and recovered in January and fluctuated in February.

In the aspect of industrial chain: the price of pure benzene market this week was mainly volatile. At the beginning of the week, the price of pure benzene market rose slightly under the boost of styrene market. The market negotiation atmosphere was good, the trading was positive, and there was a certain deal in the market. After the continuous decline of crude oil in the middle and late stages, the market mentality was dragged down, and the styrene market weakened. Under the dual impact, the pure benzene market was weak, the enthusiasm of downstream procurement slowed down, the overall market was weak, and the price declined slightly. The hydrogenation benzene market was mainly weak this week under the influence of the continuous decline of crude oil and the trend of the industrial chain, and the price of the main production area fell to about 6800 yuan/ton.

The crude benzene market fluctuated in a narrow range this week, with a slight increase. The main production area in Shandong Province is 5750 yuan/ton, a slight increase of 50 yuan/ton compared with last week. On the supply side, the operating rate of coking enterprises increased slightly this week, and crude benzene supply was slightly loose. In terms of demand, the hydrogenation benzene market is still in operation, and the demand for crude benzene still exists. This week’s slight price increase was mainly affected by the overall high and volatile operation of the industrial chain. In general, crude benzene demand still exists, but the recent trend of crude oil fluctuates greatly, and the market guidance is insufficient. The price of hydrogenation benzene market is slightly down this week under the pressure of the downstream. It is expected that the crude benzene price will be mainly adjusted in a narrow range. The future market will focus on the impact of the trend of basic products such as crude oil and styrene on the market mentality.