Analysis of the hottest chemical market this week

This week's chemical market analysis and next week's forecast

1. International market

a, toluene, xylene, pure benzene Market: 1. Pure benzene: the price of pure benzene in Asia this week continues to rise due to the strong energy price. The price of pure benzene in Asia generally rose by $45/ton to $815/ton (FOB Korea, equivalent to RMB 8232/ton). Due to the rising price of pure benzene in the United States, the arbitrage trade from Asia to the United States reopened. As the supply of goods in Asia is still sufficient, the increased arbitrage trading activity has raised the sentiment of market participants. Meanwhile, the styrene monomer unit will restart in May, and the seller of pure benzene is expected to increase the demand in Asia in the next few weeks. 2. Solvent xylene: this week, the price of solvent xylene in Asia continued to rise by $10/ton to $800/ton (FOB Korea, equivalent to RMB 8080/ton), which was due to tight supply and low inventory in Chinese Mainland. This week, because the production plant is being or will be overhauled, the supply of shipments from South Korea in April/May is very limited, which also supports the price. International energy prices also boosted market sentiment. Driven by the reduction of resources and the soaring price of pure benzene, the spot price of toluene in Asia this week closed higher by $45 to $850/ton (FOB South Korea, equivalent to RMB 8585/ton). B. Styrene: supported by the strong price of energy and raw material benzene, the price of styrene monomer in Asia soared by 35 dollars/ton to 1050 dollars/ton (FOB South Korea, equivalent to 10511 yuan/ton). The warming of the downstream PS market supported the market. C. Ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol: 1. Ethylene glycol: MEG spot price closed higher at the beginning of the week by $5/ton to $835/ton (CFR China main port, equivalent to RMB 8434/ton supported by the Chunlei talent project of Ningbo Materials Institute, etc.), mainly driven by traders' speculation and end-users' replenishment of inventory, but at the end of the week, the gap between the real-time spot price and the ships arriving at the end of may/early June was also the most undoubtedly 1-point price gap, and the market was in chaos, Coupled with the weakness of the Chinese market, MEG spot price fell by $10/ton to $825/ton (CFR main port of China, equivalent to RMB 8333/ton). 2. Diethylene glycol: driven by the higher prices of styrene and pure benzene, the spot price of diethylene glycol this week was strong at US $660/ton (CFR China main port, equivalent to RMB 6666/ton), with active trading

one week trend chart of international liquid chemical market

2. Domestic market

(1) one week market analysis: A. pure benzene, toluene, xylene: driven by the reduction of resource supply and the frequent price hikes of petrochemical enterprises, the toluene and xylene markets in South China and East China rose steadily this week, of which the xylene in South China rose by 400 yuan/ton due to the lack of resources; Toluene increased by 300 yuan/ton; Toluene and xylene in East China rose by 250 yuan/ton, and the market prices were 8300 East China -9000 South China (xylene); 8350 East china-8500 South China (toluene); The market price of pure benzene rebounded by 200 yuan/ton due to the recovery of downstream demand and the sharp rise of external market, which was between 6800 yuan/ton in East China and 6850 yuan/ton in South China (pure benzene). Styrene: affected by the stronger demand for downstream PS and the soaring price of the external market, at the same time, most traders and downstream manufacturers received goods enthusiastically, especially the strong atmosphere of reluctant selling among traders, as well as the low inventory of petrochemical enterprises and the sharp increase in prices, the market situation in South and East China continued to heat up this week, with the sharp rise in the market in East China, leading to an increase of 500 yuan/ton; South China rose by 200 yuan/ton due to the high price in the early stage. As of the weekend, the market prices in South China and East China were: yuan/ton (East China) and Yuan ton (South China). C. Ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol: driven by the rising oil price and the strengthening of the downstream market, as well as the tight supply of resources and the recovery of downstream demand, especially the support of traders' increased reluctance to sell, the diethylene glycol market in East and South China took a turn this week, with prices rising slightly by yuan/ton, and transactions were active in (East China) and yuan/ton (South China). This week, the market price of ethylene glycol in East China fell by 100 yuan/ton due to the weakening downstream demand and lower external market, as well as the rapid rise in price, which led to the conflict between downstream manufacturers and traders; The market price in South China remained stable temporarily at RMB/ton due to the lack of resources

market transaction price of liquid chemical products in some regions of China in a week (unit: yuan/ton, canning price)

regions

styrene

ethylene glycol

diethylene glycol

toluene

xylene

pure benzene

South China

East China

trend chart of transaction price of liquid chemical products in some domestic regions (unit: yuan/ton)

(2) market forecast for next week: oil prices and external prices continue to rise this week. At the same time, traders and downstream manufacturers receive goods enthusiastically, the negotiation atmosphere is active, and petrochemical enterprises have low inventories, especially traders are reluctant to sell. Therefore, the market trend of next week: 1. Toluene, xylene and pure benzene Market: driven by the continuous rise of oil prices and external market prices and the further reduction of resource supply, the markets in East and South China once again ignited a new round of price rise boom, especially the xylene price rose by 200 yuan/ton. At present, the xylene resources in East and South China are very scarce, petrochemical enterprises and traders continue to raise prices, and the market rise continues; Toluene, on the contrary, rose slowly. Considering that the xylene market has been rising for several weeks in a row, downstream manufacturers and traders have been in resistance and the May Day holiday is coming, traders have the habit of clearing goods for the holiday, while downstream manufacturers tend to prepare materials after the holiday, mainly waiting. As the prices of toluene and xylene continue to rise, traders and the downstream manufacturers of vertical tensile testing machines are more and more worried and cautious about the future market. It is reported that the period from late April to mid and late May will allow imports to arrive in a centralized manner, as well as the completion of the expansion of Maoming Petrochemical aromatics unit, when social resources will increase, and the invisible sales pressure will also increase. Therefore, toluene and xylene will oscillate weakly and rise in a narrow range next week; Pure benzene stabilized in the future due to the rise in the external market and the gradual recovery of downstream demand. 2. Styrene Market: supported by high oil prices, high external prices and strong downstream PS demand, especially the positive receiving of downstream manufacturers and the weakening willingness of traders to ship, the styrene markets in East and South China continued to rise this week. As the price rose to a certain extent, it will take some time for downstream manufacturers and traders to adapt. Therefore, the short-term market is stable at this price; 3. Ethylene glycol Market: Recently, the market price of ethylene glycol has been reduced due to the lower external market, the weaker downstream demand, and the too fast price rise. Downstream manufacturers and traders have resistance, mainly due to the insufficient support of downstream demand. Consider the impact of high oil prices and the May Day holiday. Therefore, in the short term, the market is still volatile consolidation; 4. Diethylene glycol Market: supported by the rising Styrene Market and increased demand, diethylene glycol rose steadily and slightly. Therefore, the overall trend is still stable. Due to the upcoming May Day holiday, many traders have the habit of clearing goods, coupled with traders and downstream manufacturers' lack of confidence in the future market, and there are still some unpredictable uncertainties in the market, there are still certain variables in the liquid chemical market in the short term

note: the reprinted contents are more and more enterprises that have invested in lithium resources in Australia, Africa, South America and other places in the past two or three years. The reprint is for the purpose of transmitting more information, and does not mean to agree with their views or confirm the authenticity of their contents