According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the ex factory price of hydrogenated benzene in North China fluctuated narrowly from January 12 to January 19, 2024. Last week, it was 7433.33 yuan/ton, and this week it was 7800 yuan/ton, up 4.93%.

In terms of crude oil: International crude oil futures rose on January 18th. The settlement price of the main WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $73.95 per barrel, with an increase of $1.47 or 2.0%. The settlement price of the Brent crude oil futures main contract was $79.10 per barrel, an increase of $1.22 or 1.6%.

On January 17, 2024, Sinopec’s listed price for pure benzene was increased by 250 yuan/ton, with a current implementation of 7850 yuan/ton.

Other companies: Jingbo Petrochemical quoted 7750 yuan/ton, HSBC Petrochemical quoted 7600 yuan/ton, Weilian Chemical quoted 7663 yuan/ton, Xinhai Petrochemical quoted 7750 yuan/ton, and Hongrun Petrochemical quoted 7600 yuan/ton.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the price of pure benzene has slightly increased this week. On January 15th, the price of pure benzene was 7497 yuan/ton, and on Friday (January 19th), the price of pure benzene was 7850 yuan/ton, an increase of 4.94% from last week and 11.9% 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, the crude oil market continued to rise this week, with styrene prices rising and pure benzene prices rising externally. Multiple positive factors have affected the continuous upward trend of the pure benzene market next week. Sinopec has raised the listed price of pure benzene twice to 7850 yuan/ton, with a cumulative increase of 400 yuan/ton. Driven by the pure benzene market, hydrogenated benzene enterprises have raised their ex factory prices to 7700-7800 yuan/ton this week, and the current market atmosphere is relatively strong.

This week, the hydrogenated benzene market has shown an overall upward trend, with a spot market increase of approximately 250-350 yuan/ton. In terms of supply, with the recent increase in the price of hydrogenated benzene, enterprises are currently actively starting production, and some enterprises that underwent early maintenance have resumed production. The operating rate has slightly increased within the week, and the expected increase in hydrogenated benzene supply is expected. In terms of demand, some downstream enterprises undergo maintenance, but as the Spring Festival approaches, downstream enterprises have varying degrees of stocking plans, so the market expects overall good demand in the near future. Overall, the trend of crude oil is somewhat volatile, and currently there is limited guidance for the market. The release of downstream stocking demand has driven up the market atmosphere, but as prices continue to rise, downstream receiving capacity may decline, and it is expected that the upward space of the hydrogenated benzene market is limited.