Last week, the EIA inventory was bearish, and the oil price first rose and then fell. In the first half of the week, the trading activity increased driven by crude oil, and the price went up. In the second half of the week, although crude oil weakened, Shandong local refineries continued to operate at reduced capacity. In addition, the benzene unit of Lihuayi was newly shut down for maintenance. The hydrogenated benzene plants remained at a low operating rate due to losses.
Moreover, as the temperature was still low last week, cross - regional transportation had not fully recovered to the pre - holiday level. Under the situation of tight supply, coupled with the fact that the inventory build - up at the main ports in East China was less than expected, and the leading refineries raised their listed prices, which led to a series of positive factors. The market trading atmosphere was active, and the price of pure benzene deviated from the trend of crude oil, achieving a continuous increase within the week. This week, as the downstream loss pressure increases and the enthusiasm for purchasing goods declines, the domestic pure benzene price is expected to decline slightly. The specific situation still needs to pay attention to the trend of crude oil.
