I. Key Points
November 2: Multiple parties continued to push for US-Iran peace talks, easing market concerns over supply risks and causing international crude oil prices to fall. The NYMEX WTI December contract closed at $96.46/bbl, down $7.66 (-7.36% WoW); the ICE Brent January contract (after rollover) closed at $104.77/bbl, down $8.66 (-7.63% WoW). China’s INE crude oil futures December 2026 contract rose by 17.6 yuan/bbl to 745.2 yuan/bbl during the day session but fell by 64.2 yuan/bbl to 681 yuan/bbl in the night session.
Crude oil declines on November 2 dampened market sentiment, resulting in sluggish trading activity. The USD-denominated market closed lower. FOB Korea prices settled at $1,463–$1,473/ton, with an average decline of $17; CFR China prices settled at $1,403–$1,413/ton, also averaging a $17 decline. Units: USD/ton.
On November 2, compared to the previous trading day, theoretical production-sales margins for integrated facilities increased by RMB 840/ton to reach RMB 2,845/ton. For non-integrated facilities, theoretical profits rose by RMB 301/ton to reach RMB 172/ton.
Core Logic: Crude oil prices dropped significantly from high levels, dragging styrene prices down and narrowing the inter-month spread.
II. Price Table
| Product | Region | Oct 30 | Nov 2 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil | Brent¹ | 113.43 | 104.77 | -8.66 |
| Ethylene | CFR NE Asia | 1230 | 1230 | 0 |
| Pure Benzene | East China Market | 10065 | 9750 | -315 |
| Styrene | Jiangsu Market | 11360 | 11410 | +50 |
| Notes: | ||||
| 1. Brent Crude: USD/barrel; Ethylene CFR NE Asia: USD/ton; Pure Benzene & Styrene: RMB/ton. | ||||
| 2. Prices for Pure Benzene and Styrene represent closing averages from mainstream markets. | ||||
| 3. All RMB prices in the table above are spot exchange rates including VAT. | ||||
| 4. Change rate refers to week-over-week percentage change. |
III. Market Outlook
Styrene: With crude oil falling sharply from highs, styrene followed suit, leading to a narrower inter-month spread. In the short term, supply and demand remain in tight balance. Restart times for some plants have been delayed, indicating no obvious recovery in industry supply yet. Recent port arrivals have been concentrated, leading to a slight increase in inventory levels. Spot demand shows no significant improvement, facing resistance in price transmission downwards, while new orders are under pressure. Styrene prices may trade sideways with a bearish bias in the short term.
IV. Data Table
| Data Type | Previous Period | Current Period | Change Rate | Expectation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiangsu Port Inventory (10k tons) | 2.47 | 3.07 | +24.29% | ↘ |
| South China Port Inventory (10k tons) | 3.3 | 2.6 | -21.21% | ↘ |
| Operating Rate | 62.8% | 61.81% | -0.99% | ↗ |
| Sample Enterprise Inventory | 13.45 | 13.52 | +0.52% | ↘ |
| Notes: | ||||
| 1. All data in the table represents weekly styrene statistics. ↘ indicates expected decrease, ↗ indicates expected increase. | ||||
| 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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