Xylene Prices Continue to Rise

Mixed xylene rose continuously. On April 15, the price was 7,140 CNY/ton; on Friday (April 22), the price was 7,420 CNY/ton, up 3.92% from last week and 28.15% from the same period last year.

2. Analysis and comment

Although crude oil fell, the gasoline industry in Shandong region was active, prices continued to rise, and the demand for mixed xylene followed up. During the week, Shandong region purchased a large amount of xylene, and the demand in South China and Central China also followed up slightly, boosting prices. Affected by the public health event, some parts of East China have limited logistics and difficulty in picking up goods, and prices have mainly followed other regions.

In terms of external disk, the price of mixed xylene in the external disk rose. On Thursday (April 21), the price of imported mixed xylene in South Korea was US$1,125.5/ton, a year-on-year increase of US$23/ton, or 2.1%; the reference price of domestic imported mixed xylene was US$1,135/ton, a year-on-year increase of US$25/ton. tons, an increase of 2.3%.

In terms of crude oil, crude oil fluctuated and fell. Positive: The situation in Russia and Ukraine is still tense; the EU is considering gradually suspending the purchase of crude oil from Russia; the situation in Libya is unstable, and crude oil production has dropped significantly; in addition, the total amount of crude oil inventories in the United States has plummeted this week, and the inventory of refined oil products has also declined, and the worry of tight crude oil supply has intensified . Bears: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its economic growth forecast and warned of rising inflation, and demand concerns coexisted. As of April 22, Brent fell by $5.05 per barrel, or 4.52%; WTI fell by $4.88 per barrel, or 4.56%.

On the downstream side, in the PX market, the domestic PX price was stable. On Friday (April 22), the domestic ex-factory price of paraxylene was 9,300 CNY/ton, the price was the same as last week and up 45.31% from the same period last year. On April 21, the closing price of paraxylene in Asia was $1,191/ton FOB Korea and $1,209/ton CFR China.

In the OX market, the price of OX in East China fell sharply. On Friday (April 22), the price of OX in East China was 8,200 CNY/ton, down 4.65% from last week and up 38.98% from the same period last year.

In terms of gasoline, gasoline in Shandong stopped falling, and the price rebounded widely. The price on April 15 was 8,341.2 CNY/ton, and on April 22, the price was 8,776 CNY/ton, an increase of 5.21% from last week and an increase of 18.2% from the same period last year. Gasoline demand rose as some cities gradually recovered and travel increased.

3. Market outlook forecast

In terms of crude oil, the situation in Russia and Ukraine is full of uncertainty, and concerns about tightening oil supply remain unabated. But high oil prices are bad for the economy and demand, and rising inflation may curb the rise in oil prices. There is still a risk of severe volatility in crude oil in the short term. Continue to pay attention to the impact of the geopolitical situation, OPEC+ decisions on crude oil production, U.S. crude oil, refined oil inventory dynamics, and global economic conditions on crude oil prices.

As the May Day approaching next week, gasoline stocks are expected to rise, which may continue to boost mixed xylene, but the uncertainty brought about by the public health event still restricts the increase. Pay attention to the trend of crude oil, gasoline and diesel prices, the dynamics of mixed xylene ports and devices, the impact of downstream trends and device dynamics on the price of mixed xylene.