1、 Price trend

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the price of pure benzene in the Shandong region has fluctuated and fallen this month. On March 1st, the price was 6160 yuan/ton; On March 31st, the price was 8586.67 yuan/ton, an increase of 39.39% from the beginning of the month. Affected by the Middle East conflict and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the highest price of pure benzene this month was 12002.33 yuan/ton on March 9th.
2、 Market analysis
Pure benzene: Today, the domestic market price of pure benzene continues to rise. International crude oil futures have risen, and the price of pure benzene has increased in foreign markets. Domestic contract holders are actively replenishing and delivering at the end of the month, leading to an increase in market trading volume. Recently, Shandong Pure Benzene Refinery has been selling in large quantities, resulting in a price increase. The price of pure benzene in Sinopec’s refineries in East and South China has remained stable at 9000 yuan/ton, and will be implemented on March 30th. It is expected that the pure benzene market will experience slight fluctuations in the short term.
This month, Sinopec has raised the price of pure benzene by 2700 yuan/ton to 9000 yuan/ton.
Downstream aspects
3、 Future forecast
Crude oil futures: On March 30th, international crude oil futures continued to rise. The settlement price of the May WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $102.88 per barrel, an increase of $3.24 or 3.3%. The settlement price of Brent crude oil futures in June was $107.39 per barrel, an increase of $2.07 or 2.0%.
Foreign pure benzene: On March 30th, foreign pure benzene: FOB Korea rose 30 to $1148/ton, CFR China rose 30 to $1157/ton. FOB Rotterdam rose by 34 to $1200 per ton, while FOB USG remained stable at 413 cents per gallon.
Overall forecast: Due to the impact of the Middle East conflict and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the pure benzene market is expected to have a strong overall sentiment in the short term. We still need to wait and see more news on the cost and demand sides. Continue to monitor the trends of crude oil and external markets, as well as the impact of changes in pure benzene and downstream equipment dynamics and demand on the price of pure benzene.