Price trend
The hydrogenated benzene commodity index was 37.11 on October 22, an increase of 1.1 points from previous day, a decrease of 63.62% from the highest point in the cycle of 102.01 points (2014-01-09), and an increase of 23.74%. from the lowest point of 29.99 points on April 7, 2020. (Note: Period refers to 2013-12-01 to present).
This week (October 19-23), the market price of hydrogenated benzene in Shandong has increased. The price was 3,175 RMB/ton at the beginning of the week and 3,550 RMB/ton on the weekend, up 375 RMB/ton.
Analysis review
In October 2020, the price of pure benzene at Yangzi Petrochemical (Sinopec East China) was lowered once and raised four times. As of October 16, the price was adjusted to 3,600 RMB/ton.
This week, the pure benzene market was in an upward channel driven by the rise of downstream styrene and the higher external market. Sinopec’s listing was raised twice on the 20th and 22nd, totaling 200 RMB/ton to 3,600 RMB/ton. The crude benzene market was boosted by active trading. This week, the bidding price in the main producing areas increased sharply. The Shandong area rose by about 230 RMB/ton. The price of crude benzene has risen and the pressure on hydrogenated benzene has increased, and the operating rate this week has fallen by about 5%. Some enterprises in Shandong and Shanxi have entered the maintenance season.
On the downstream side, the overall operating rate of downstream companies declined slightly this week, with good corporate profits and active operations.
Market outlook
In the market outlook, SunSirs believes that most of the current rebound in the pure benzene market is driven by styrene. The price of styrene is currently relatively high. The market outlook is expected to consolidate at a high level and lack good support. The pure benzene market will maintain consolidation next week. It is expected that the market outlook for the hydrogenated benzene market will be consolidating at a high level, focusing on downstream demand and the positive impact of pure benzene.
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