Shandong gasoline production-sales improve as crude oil falls on easing US-Iran supply concerns

I. Key Focus Areas

1. Crude Oil: On October 20, the market continued to assess the prospects for U.S.-Iran dialogue, with concerns over supply risks slightly easing, leading to a decline in international crude oil prices. The NYMEX November crude oil futures contract closed at $101.79/bbl, down $1.87/bbl (-1.80% MoM). The ICE December Brent crude oil futures contract closed at $108.79/bbl, down $0.76/bbl (-0.69% MoM). China's INE December 2026 crude oil futures contract rose by 8.5 yuan to 727.3 yuan/bbl during the day session but fell by 32.5 yuan to 694.8 yuan/bbl in the night session.

2. Xylene: Sinopec East China listed xylene price was 9,150 yuan/ton.

3. Gasoline: Yesterday, the production-sales ratio of Shandong local refineries' gasoline was 90%, up 20 percentage points MoM.

Core Logic: Crude oil futures saw a slight pullback. Yesterday, Shandong local refineries did not balance their gasoline production and sales; most factory auctions resulted in premiums, improving the purchasing atmosphere within the market. The Asian USD-denominated market declined yesterday, while xylene prices showed mixed movements.

II. Price Table

Notes:

1. FOB Korea is in USD/ton; East China and Shandong markets are in CNY/ton.
2. Xylene prices represent the closing average prices of mainstream markets.
3. All RMB prices in the table above are spot exchange rates, tax-inclusive, ex-warehouse prices.

III. Market Outlook

Crude oil futures closed slightly lower, providing limited support to market sentiment. Yesterday, the gasoline market did not achieve production-sales balance. Shandong xylene production-sales situation improved but remained unbalanced. Downstream PX futures continued to fall in the night session, narrowing the MX-PX spread. Downstream customers showed insufficient purchasing enthusiasm. Domestic xylene is expected to consolidate weakly today.

Notes:

1. ↓↑ indicates significant fluctuation, highlighting data dimensions with changes exceeding 3%.
2. ↗↘ indicates narrow-range fluctuation, highlighting data with changes within 0-3%.