According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the auction price of crude benzene increased from December 18th to December 25th, 2023, with a price increase of 6063.75 yuan/ton last week and 6376.25 yuan/ton this week, up 5.15%.

In terms of crude oil: Angola’s decision to withdraw from OPEC has raised doubts in the market about the sustainability of OPEC+production cuts, leading to a decline in international oil prices. On December 22nd, international crude oil futures closed lower, with the settlement price of the main WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States at $73.56 per barrel, a decrease of $0.33 or 0.5%. The settlement price of Brent crude oil futures main contract was 78.80 yuan/barrel, a decrease of 0.36 US dollars or 0.5%.

On December 20th, Sinopec’s listed price of pure benzene increased by 150 yuan/ton to 6950 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 7200 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 6950 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 7053 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 7200 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 6950 yuan/ton.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the price of pure benzene has slightly increased this week. On December 18th, the price of pure benzene was 6837 yuan/ton, and on Friday (December 22nd), the price of pure benzene was 7080 yuan/ton, an increase of 3.76% from last week and 8.38% 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 a significant increase in the pure benzene market recently.

In terms of the industrial chain, the crude oil market fell first and then rose during the week, and the styrene market overall strengthened. Due to the impact of transportation, the delivery of pure benzene in East China is not good, and the bullish mentality of the spot market has increased. In terms of demand, downstream stocks have been replenished recently, and market trading has been active. Sinopec raised the listing price of pure benzene to 6950 yuan/ton and increased it by 150 yuan/ton within the week. Supported by multiple positive factors, the overall pure benzene market rose this week, driving a significant rebound in the hydrogenated benzene market.

This week, the upward trend in the pure benzene market has driven an overall positive atmosphere in the industrial chain. The ex factory price of hydrogenated benzene in the main production areas has risen to 7100-7200 yuan/ton, and market negotiations have performed well. In terms of supply, coking enterprises started to improve within the week, with an overall increase in operating rates and a relatively stable supply of crude benzene. In terms of demand, the overall operating rate of hydrogenated benzene enterprises is relatively stable, with good demand for crude benzene. Downstream enterprises purchase according to demand. The recent performance of the supply and demand side has been relatively stable, and the market trend is mainly driven by the pure benzene market. Supported by multiple positive factors, the overall auction price of crude benzene has risen this week, with an increase of about 300-350 yuan/ton. Among them, the Shanxi region executed 6350-6400 yuan/ton, an increase of 340-380 yuan/ton compared to last week. In the future, it is expected that the crude benzene market will operate strongly in the short term, with upward potential, boosted by the favorable industrial chain.