According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the auction price of crude benzene during the period from February 26 to March 4, 2024 has decreased by 5.62%, from 7201.25 yuan/ton last week to 6796.25 yuan/ton this week.

In terms of crude oil: Currently, there is still a long short game in the crude oil market, and in the short term, crude oil will still be affected by the geopolitical situation, and the price will remain relatively rigid. On March 1st, international crude oil futures rose. The settlement price of the main WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $79.97 per barrel, up $1.71 or 2.2%. The settlement price of the Brent crude oil futures main contract was $83.55 per barrel, up $1.64 or 2.0%.

On March 1, 2024, Sinopec lowered the listed price of pure benzene by 200 yuan/ton, and currently implements a price of 8350 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 8300 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 8350 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 8003 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 8300 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 8350 yuan/ton.

According to the commodity market analysis system of Business Society, the price of pure benzene has slightly decreased this week. On February 26th, the price of pure benzene was 8717 yuan/ton, and on Friday (March 1st), the price of pure benzene was 8483 yuan/ton, a decrease of 2.68% from last week and an increase of 19.42% 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, pure benzene and crude oil rose first and then fell after the holiday. In this cycle, confidence in the spot market declined due to downstream maintenance news, and the domestic pure benzene market continued to decline. The latest quotation for hydrogenated benzene this week fell to 8300 yuan/ton, a decrease of 400 yuan/ton from last week. The external market of pure benzene continues to decline, and Sinopec has lowered its listed price of pure benzene three times this week. As of now, it has executed a price reduction of 8350 yuan/ton, with a cumulative decrease of 500 yuan/ton.

In terms of supply, the fourth round of decline in the coke market after the holiday has quickly landed, with a cumulative decrease of 400-440 yuan/ton. Coking companies have generally incurred losses, and currently, active production restriction enterprises continue to increase, with operating rates dropping to around 68%. Crude benzene production has significantly declined, and supply is tight. In terms of demand, the operating rate of downstream hydrogenated benzene enterprises has not changed much, and currently there is not much change in demand. The positive supply and demand side still exists, but news of reduced production and maintenance of some downstream units of hydrogenated benzene and pure benzene has been reported, resulting in poor performance of terminal demand and dragging down market sentiment. Overall, the decline in downstream demand is dragging down market sentiment, and it is expected that the pure benzene industry chain will continue to operate weakly in the short term. However, there will be positive factors emerging from the macro perspective in the near future, and it is expected that the market will continue to have limited downward space, with stable, moderate, and weak operations as the main focus.