According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, from May 6 to May 12, 2023, the bidding price of crude benzene increased narrowly, from 5671.25 yuan/ton last weekend to 5703.75 yuan/ton this weekend, with a weekly increase of 0.57%.

In terms of crude oil, international crude oil futures continued to decline on May 11th. The settlement price of the main contract for WTI crude oil futures in the United States was $70.87 per barrel, a decrease of $1.69 or 2.3%. The settlement price of the main contract for Brent crude oil futures was $74.98 per barrel, a decrease of $1.43 or 1.9%. The debt ceiling impasse in the United States has intensified the fear of economic recession, and the increase in the number of Americans who apply for unemployment benefits roughly has put pressure on the oil market.

The factory price of Sinopec pure benzene decreased by 250 yuan/ton on May 8, 2023, and is currently at 7050 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 7170 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 7200 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 7153 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 fluctuations in the form of a bar chart. Investors can buy and sell investments 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 experienced a decline in recent times, with a continuous decline for four weeks.

In terms of industrial chain: This week, the crude oil market rose first and then fell, and overall declined. The downstream styrene market continued to decline, dragging down the external market of pure benzene. The pure benzene market overall declined this week, and there were rumors that Sinopec’s listed price had a downward expectation, which once again affected the market mentality. After the hydrogenation benzene festival, it followed the overall downward trend of pure benzene, and the current factory price in the main production area is around 6900-7050 yuan/ton.

The crude benzene market has performed differently this week. The Shandong region did not make any adjustments this week, but still implemented post holiday prices. The Shanxi region saw a slight increase in prices, and other price adjustment regions also had limited changes. On the supply side, coking enterprises have slightly declined in production this week, but overall they are still operating in the range of over 75%, and the supply of crude benzene is still relatively loose. In terms of demand, downstream hydrogenation benzene enterprises have slightly declined in construction this week, and under the influence of recent poor market performance, some enterprises have production reduction and maintenance plans in the future, and market demand is expected to decline in the future. Overall, the recent decline in crude oil has led to a narrow decline in the price of pure benzene due to the drag. Downstream demand is expected to be weak, and in the future, the business community predicts that the price of crude benzene will be mainly stable, moderate, and weak, with room for decline.