According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the auction price of crude benzene increased during the period from April 7th to April 12th, 2024, with a price increase of 7308.75 yuan/ton last week and 7488.75 yuan/ton this week, up 2.46%.

In terms of crude oil: Although US crude oil inventories have increased and the Federal Reserve may delay interest rate cuts, concerns about the Middle East situation have not dissipated, and international oil prices have rebounded after falling. On April 11th, international crude oil futures closed lower. The settlement price of the main WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $85.02 per barrel, a decrease of $1.19 or 1.7%. The settlement price of the Brent crude oil futures main contract was $89.74 per barrel, a decrease of $0.74 or 0.8%.

On April 7, 2024, Sinopec’s listed price for pure benzene was increased by 150 yuan/ton, with a current implementation of 8800 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 8680 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 8800 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 8493 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 8680 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 8800 yuan/ton.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the price of pure benzene has slightly decreased this week. On April 8th, the price of pure benzene was 8723 yuan/ton, and on Friday (April 12th), the price of pure benzene was 8712 yuan/ton, an increase of 3.02% from last week and 16.54% 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 ups and downs in recent times.

In terms of the industrial chain, this week’s geopolitical warming has driven up crude oil prices. After the holiday, the pure benzene market followed suit, while the hydrogenated benzene market briefly followed suit. In the later part of the week, crude oil prices declined, and with news of maintenance of downstream devices within the week, the market is expected to have weak demand in the future. The hydrogenated benzene market has given up its gains, and the ex factory price has retreated to pre holiday levels. Currently, most of them remain at 8600 yuan/ton.

In terms of supply, the eighth round of increase in the coke market has quickly landed, with a cumulative decrease of 800-880 yuan/ton. Affected by the profits of coke enterprises, the current production restriction is still relatively high, and the operating rate of coking enterprises continues to decline, currently around 60%. Most coke enterprises still suffer losses. Due to the weak overall demand in the coal, coke, and steel industry chain, coke enterprises have low expectations for production increase in the short term, and will maintain a low operating rate in the near future. The overall supply of crude benzene is tight. In terms of demand, downstream hydrogenation benzene enterprises are still able to start construction this week, and crude benzene will be replenished as needed. Under the boost of tight supply, the auction price of crude benzene continued to rise this week, with a price increase of 130-200 yuan/ton in the Shanxi region of 7300-7380 yuan/ton. Shandong region implemented a price of 7550 yuan/ton, an increase of 200 yuan/ton compared to the previous auction round. In the future, as the May Day holiday approaches, there is a demand for stocking in the downstream market. The supply of crude benzene is tight, and it is expected that there will still be a slight upward trend in the crude benzene market in the near future, boosted by favorable supply and demand.