Morning Market Brief: Styrene

I. Key Points

1. Nov 12: The outlook for US-Iran relations remains uncertain, and market concerns regarding supply risks persist, driving international crude oil prices higher. NYMEX WTI crude futures (December contract) closed at $88.74/bbl, up $2.21/bbl (+2.55% WoW). ICE Brent crude futures (January contract) closed at $95.82/bbl, up $3.06/bbl (+3.30% WoW). China INE crude oil futures (January 2027 contract) fell by CNY 11.8 to CNY 595.9/bbl during the day session, but rose by CNY 14.6 to CNY 610.5/bbl in the night session.
2. Nov 12: Negotiations in the USD-denominated market were generally active. Closing prices for RMB-denominated far-month contracts rose, reflecting firm market sentiment, leading to an increase in USD-denominated closing prices for the day. FOB Korea settled at $1,295–$1,305/ton (average price +$40); CFR China settled at $1,235–$1,245/ton (average price +$40). Units: USD/ton.
3. Nov 12: Compared to the previous trading day, theoretical production-sales profit margins for integrated plants increased by CNY 148 to reach CNY 1,710/ton. For non-integrated plants, theoretical production-sales profits increased by CNY 420/ton, reaching -CNY 29/ton.

Core Logic: Crude oil continues to rebound, strengthening cost-side support. Concentrated downstream restocking has reduced spot circulation volumes, providing strong support for spot and near-term prices.

II. Price Table

Notes:

1. Brent Crude: USD/barrel; CFR NE Asia Ethylene: USD/ton; Benzene & Styrene: CNY/ton.
2. Benzene and Styrene prices represent the average closing prices of mainstream markets.
3. All RMB prices in the table above are spot exchange rates including tax.
4. Change rate refers to the week-over-week (or day-over-day) percentage change.

III. Market Outlook

Styrene: Crude oil continues to rebound, increasing cost-side support. Da Guo and Guoen units have restarted, leading to a partial recovery in industry supply. However, concentrated downstream restocking has reduced spot circulation volumes, providing strong support for spot and near-term prices. The styrene market is expected to consolidate on a stronger note in the short term.

IV. Data Table

Notes:

1. Data in the table represents weekly styrene statistics; ↘ indicates decrease, ↗ indicates increase.
2. Jiangsu port inventory data for styrene is released before 15:00 on Monday of the reporting week.
3. East China port inventory data for styrene is released before 17:00 on Monday of the reporting week.
4. Styrene operating rate data is released before 18:00 on Thursday of the reporting week.
5. Sample enterprise inventory data for styrene is released before 17:00 on Thursday of the reporting week.