October 19: The Middle East and Russia-Ukraine situations remain unstable, but the U.S. has exempted certain sanctions against Russia, leading to mixed movements in international crude oil prices. NYMEX WTI crude oil futures for the November contract closed at $103.66/barrel, up $2.25/barrel (+2.22% week-on-week); ICE Brent crude oil futures for the December contract closed at $109.55/barrel, down $0.31/barrel (-0.28% week-on-week). China INE crude oil futures for the December 2026 contract fell by 4.2 yuan to 718.8 yuan/barrel during the day session, then rose by 16.8 yuan to 735.6 yuan/barrel during the night session.
On October 19, trading activity in the Asian styrene USD market was moderate. RMB-denominated prices for distant months declined, and the intraday USD market closed lower. FOB Korea settled at $1,405–$1,415/ton (average price down $35); CFR China settled at $1,345–$1,355/ton (average price down $35). Unit: USD/ton.
On October 19, theoretically compared to the previous trading day: theoretical production-sales profit for integrated plant enterprises increased by 133 yuan/ton to 2,171 yuan/ton; theoretical production-sales loss for non-integrated plant enterprises decreased by 202 yuan/ton to -304 yuan/ton.
Core Logic: Recently, domestic and international crude oil trends have diverged. Regional price spreads between southern and northern markets for styrene have widened, as have inter-month spreads.
| Product | Region | Oct 16 | Oct 19 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil | Brent Dec | 109.86 | 109.55 | -0.31 |
| Ethylene | CFR NE Asia | 1130 | 1130 | 0 |
| Pure Benzene | East China Market | 10300 | 10185 | -115 |
| Styrene | Jiangsu Market | 10960 | 11070 | +110 |
| Notes: | ||||
| 1. Brent crude oil: USD/barrel; CFR NE Asia ethylene: USD/ton; Pure benzene, Styrene: CNY/ton. | ||||
| 2. Mainstream market closing average prices are selected for pure benzene and styrene. | ||||
| 3. All RMB prices in the table above are spot exchange rates including tax. | ||||
| 4. Change rate refers to the week-on-week change rate. |
Styrene: Recently, domestic and international crude oil trends have diverged. Regional price spreads between southern and northern markets for styrene have widened, as have inter-month spreads. Some plants in South China and North China have seen both increases and decreases in operating rates, so industry supply fluctuations are estimated to be limited. Port inventories are low, resulting in a tight spot market. However, considering negative feedback from downstream sectors and weak demand, resistance to high raw material costs persists. In the short term, styrene prices may fluctuate within a range.
| Data Type | Previous Period | Current Period | Change Rate | Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiangsu Port Inventory (10k tons) | 3.96 | 3.31 | -16.41% | ↗ |
| South China Port Inventory (10k tons) | 4 | 4.3 | +7.5% | ↘ |
| Operating Rate | 64.44% | 63.46% | -0.98% | ↘ |
| Sample Enterprise Inventory | 15.02 | 13.3 | -11.45% | ↘ |
| Notes: | ||||
| 1. Data in the table is weekly data for styrene; ↘ indicates downward trend, ↗ indicates upward trend. | ||||
| 2. Styrene Jiangsu port inventory is released before 15:00 on Monday of the current week. | ||||
| 3. Styrene East China port inventory is released before 17:00 on Monday of the current week. | ||||
| 4. Styrene operating rate is released before 18:00 on Thursday of the current week. | ||||
| 5. Styrene sample enterprise inventory is released before 17:00 on Thursday of the current week. |
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