According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the auction price of crude benzene increased from December 11th to December 18th, 2023, with a price increase of 6063.75 yuan/ton this weekend and 5901.25 yuan/ton last weekend, up 2.75%.

In terms of crude oil: International crude oil futures closed lower on December 15th. The settlement price of the main WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $71.43 per barrel, a decrease of $0.15 or 0.2%. The settlement price of Brent crude oil futures main contract was 76.55 yuan/barrel, a decrease of 0.06 US dollars or 0.1%. On the one hand, there was a oversold in the market before. On the other hand, the weakening of the US dollar has boosted the valuation of oil prices, coupled with the International Energy Agency (IEA) raising its forecast for next year’s oil demand, boosting the oil market. Prediction: In the near future, crude oil will still be short, with the expectation of oversupply and the risk of declining demand coexisting. It is not ruled out that oil prices may continue to seek lower space.

Sinopec’s listed price for pure benzene continues to be 6800 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 6900 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 6800 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 6823 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 6850 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 6800 yuan/ton.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the price of pure benzene has slightly increased this week. On December 11th, the price of pure benzene was 6742 yuan/ton, and on Friday (December 15th), the price of pure benzene was 6823 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.79% from last week and 3.69% from the same period last year.

K-bar chart of commodity prices, using the concept of price trend K-line, reflects the weekly or monthly price fluctuations in the form of a bar chart. Investors can buy and sell based on the changes in the K-bar chart. Red indicates an increase; Green indicates a decline; The height of the K-bar represents the range of fluctuations. The weekly K-bar chart of pure benzene shows that the pure benzene market has seen more declines and less gains in recent times.

In terms of the industrial chain, the crude oil market fell first and then rose this week, while the pure benzene market followed suit. The overall performance of the market atmosphere was still good, with positive market transactions and good trading atmosphere, driving the hydrogenated benzene market to follow suit. The ex factory price in the main production area rose to 6900 yuan/ton, while the spot market rose by 150-200 yuan/ton. As the weekend approached, the market weakened and the market atmosphere followed suit.

This week, the upward trend in the pure benzene market has driven an overall positive atmosphere in the industrial chain. Sinopec’s listed price has remained at 6800 yuan/ton, stabilizing from last week. The ex factory price of hydrogenated benzene in the main production area has risen to 6800-6900 yuan/ton, indicating good market negotiation performance. On the supply side, the operating rate of coking enterprises continued to decline this week, with some coking enterprises still limiting production and crude benzene supply slightly tight. In terms of demand, the operating rate of hydrogenated benzene enterprises slightly rebounded within the week, indicating good demand for crude benzene. Downstream enterprises purchase according to demand. The recent performance of the supply and demand side has been relatively stable, with the market closely following the trend of upstream commodities. Recently, crude oil has been operating at a low level, and pure benzene inventories in East China are relatively high, which has put some pressure on market sentiment. It is expected that the pure benzene industry chain will be weak and volatile in the short term. It is necessary to focus on the impact of crude oil and styrene market trends on the pure benzene market.