From March 17 to March 24, 2023, the weekly bidding price of crude benzene was mainly down, at 5804 yuan/ton at the end of last week, and at 5686 yuan/ton at the end of this week, with a weekly decrease of 2.03%.

In terms of crude oil, international oil prices have fallen significantly since mid March. As of the 23rd, the settlement price of the main contract for WTI crude oil futures in the United States was at $69.96/barrel, while the settlement price of the main contract for Brent crude oil futures was at $75.50/barrel. The price of crude oil in the market fell. In the middle of the month, the collapse of a bank in Silicon Valley in the United States, coupled with the disappointing inflation report data in the United States, triggered market concerns about financial risks. In addition, the anxiety of Credit Suisse hit the financial market, putting pressure on risky assets such as stock markets and crude oil, and adding to the negative impact of the unexpected growth of crude oil inventories in the United States, which subsequently dragged down oil demand and caused crude oil prices to plummet. The pressure of the banking crisis began to ease in late October, and the oil market rebounded from a low level. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25bp, which met market expectations and suggested that the pace of interest rate hikes would be suspended. The decline of the US dollar supported the rise of oil prices.

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 7100 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 7200 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 7203 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 7150 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 pure benzene weekly shows that after entering July, the price of pure benzene has continuously declined, with a slight recovery in late August and early September. From October to December, the price mainly decreased, with a recovery in January. After February, the overall price fluctuated in a narrow range.

Industry chain: The pure benzene market slightly declined this week, while crude oil and styrene both rose at the beginning of the week, driving the pure benzene market up slightly. Downstream demand is moderate, and prices rose narrowly at the beginning of the week. In the middle and late stages, the trend of downstream styrene fluctuated, dragging down a slight decline in the price of pure benzene. However, enterprises such as Sinopec held up prices, and the overall market sentiment was on the sidelines, leading to a high market volatility trend. Hydrogenated benzene is affected by narrow fluctuations in pure benzene, with limited price volatility this week.

The crude benzene market has been operating weakly this week, with the main production area in Shandong Province executing 5760-5765 yuan/ton, a decrease of 120 yuan/ton compared to last week’s auction price. In terms of supply, the operating rate of coking enterprises this week has not changed significantly compared to last week, and the crude benzene supply is stable. In terms of demand, some hydrogenation benzene units were started up this week, with a slight increase in the operating rate, and the demand for crude benzene was moderate. The downward trend in prices this week is mainly affected by the overall downward trend in the industrial chain, which has a strong downward pressure on prices in the downstream, and the overall downward trend in auction prices. Overall, the current performance of crude oil is weak, with insufficient support for pure benzene. The negative factors in the industrial chain are still strong, and it is expected that the overall weak operation of the industrial chain market will prevail in the short term.