Price trends:

On September 20, the hydrobenzene commodity index was 62.91, unchanged from yesterday, down 38.33% from the peak of 102.01 points in the cycle (2014-01-09), and up 41.18% from the low of 44.56 points on August 31, 2015. (Note: Period refers to 2013-12-01 to date).

II. Market analysis:

Domestic hydrobenzene market rose this week (9.12-9.20). The average domestic market price was 5 466.67 yuan/ton at the beginning of the week and 5 700 yuan/ton at the end of the week, up 4.27%.

Domestic market: Affected by the Saudi Arabian incident, crude oil rose sharply, pure benzene external market rose sharply, FOB Korea closed up 41.5 U.S. dollars/ton, closing at 734-736 U.S. dollars/ton, CFR China rose 28.5 U.S. dollars/ton, closing at 739-741 U.S. dollars/ton. The hydrobenzene market was driven higher, with the manufacturers’offer rising by 150-200 yuan/ton compared with last week, and the overall start-up rate of the unit this week was about 50%. The price difference between crude benzene and hydrobenzene was reduced. The profit is reduced, so the manufacturer’s willingness to ship is low. Downstream units such as styrene and phenol start up relatively high, stock sentiment is relatively strong, and the price of hydrobenzene is better supported. As of Friday, the hydrobenzene market in Shandong Province ranged from 5650 to 5800 yuan/ton, with an average price of 5725 yuan/ton.

Industry Chain: Crude Oil: Saudi Arabia’s largest crude oil facility was attacked by drones last Saturday, resulting in more than 5 million barrels a day of suspension of crude oil production capacity, which affected Monday’s international oil price rise by more than 10%. In response to the incident, Saudi Arabia said it would use its stockpiles to ensure that crude oil exports were not affected, restore oil supply to pre-attack levels at the end of September, and oil prices fell sharply. Brent rose 4.59% and WTI rose 4.23% from last week. Pure benzene: Affected by the Saudi Arabian incident last Saturday, the price of pure benzene in the outer market rose sharply at the beginning of the week, which led to a bullish domestic market. In the latter half of the week, oil prices and external markets both fell, and the market attitude was cautious.

3. Trend forecast:

Crude oil and pure benzene will remain at a high level in the short term. In addition, near the downstream of National Day, the hydrobenzene market is good and concentrated, and there is still a good price space in the future.