Summary of Pure Benzene Prices in 2021

In 2021, pure benzene rose strongly. In addition to repairing the low price caused by the sanitary incident in 2020, the concentrated production of new downstream demand also contributed to the price increase. The market activity in this year continues to improve compared with that in 2020, and the price fluctuates frequently and greatly. The average annual price of east China pure benzene in 2021 is RMB 6,783 / ton, up BY RMB 2,787 / ton, or 67.7%, compared with RMB 3,996 / ton in 2020. The annual low price was 4,280 CNY/ton in January, and the high price was 8,900 CNY/ton in September.

2021 China pure benzene prices continue to rise, a total of six stages can be divided into the year.

The first phase is from January to March. From February to March, due to the unplanned parking of Brunei Hengyi and the unexpected extension of the maintenance period of Ningbo ZHONGjin, the price continued to rise until March. During this period, the new downstream demand was steadily consumed, and the pure benzene port inventory continued to decline, laying the seeds for the subsequent price rise.

April-june was the second phase, during which the imbalance between supply and demand in Europe and the United States led to a sharp rise in external prices. Domestic equipment at the same time centralized maintenance, supply reduction. East China port inventory has been low to around 60,000 tons, the market to maintain a fragile tight balance, the price can continue to rise driven by the external market, good supply.

The third stage is from July to August. During the period, the downstream was relatively low season, reducing the demand for pure benzene, and the disproportionation factory purchased a large amount of toluene to increase the output of pure benzene. The tight supply situation in the second quarter was alleviated to a certain extent, so pure benzene fell back.

The fourth stage is From August to September. Due to the epidemic prevention demand in the commercial reservoir area of East China, the arrival period of imported cargo was prolonged, resulting in a market shortage. The price rose to a yearly high of 8,900 CNY/ton.

The fifth phase is From October to November. The surge in regional demand caused by the commissioning of a new plant in Shandong province in October led to a rapid rise in prices. However, the supply and demand structure of the market was damaged due to the double control, power limit and production reduction and the surge in imports of downstream units in Jiangsu. Port inventory was rapidly accumulated, and the price fell after a month of high prices.

The sixth stage is December, the strong rise in crude oil began to push up the price of pure benzene. Near the end of the year, due to the impact of the American Mobil device and the Yangtze River pilot health incident, the waiting period for unloading is expected to be extended, part of the cargo is difficult to arrive in time, causing the market to empty, pure benzene buying actively, active transaction, the price rose rapidly until the end of the year.