International oil prices fell back from highs on Tuesday, closing slightly higher. As of the close of the day, the May contract of NYMEX WTI crude oil futures closed at US$59.33/barrel, an increase of 1.16%; the June contract of Brent crude oil futures closed at US$62.74/barrel, an increase of 0.95%.
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority issued a statement on the 6th saying that an oil tanker suffered an engine failure while sailing in the Suez Canal that day, but the normal traffic of the canal was not affected.
A meeting of relevant parties to the Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Issue was held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, on the 6th to discuss the issue of the United States and Iran resuming compliance with the agreement. After the meeting, many parties said that the meeting was “constructive”.
As of Tuesday afternoon’s close, most domestic commodity futures closed higher, with styrene rising by 3.38%, ethylene glycol, glass, Zheng alcohol, Shanghai tin, Zheng cotton, thread, and red dates. rose more than 2%; Apple futures ranked first among commodity futures in decline, while crude oil, soda ash, and pigs fell more than 2%.
International oil prices fell back after rising highs
International oil prices fell back after rising highs on Tuesday, closing slightly higher. As of the close of the day, the May contract of NYMEX WTI crude oil futures closed at US$59.33/barrel, an increase of 1.16%; the June contract of Brent crude oil futures closed at US$62.74/barrel, an increase of 0.95%.
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority issued a statement on the 6th saying that an oil tanker suffered an engine failure while sailing in the Suez Canal that day, but the canal was operating normally. Unaffected.
The statement said that an oil tanker carrying 62,000 tons of crude oil suffered an engine failure while sailing in the Suez Canal that day, and the canal authority quickly dispatched a tugboat. At present, the tanker crew has repaired the engine and the tanker has resumed sailing. Canal traffic has not been affected.
On March 23, a Panamanian-flagged heavy cargo ship ran aground in the new channel of the Suez Canal, causing a blockage in the canal. After several days of rescue operations, the stranded freighter was successfully refloated on March 29.
The Suez Canal is located at the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. It is the busiest trade channel for oil, refined fuels, grains and other goods between Asia and Europe. one. Data shows that in global maritime logistics, about 15% of cargo ships pass through the Suez Canal.
A meeting of relevant parties to the Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Issue was held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, on the 6th to discuss the issue of the United States and Iran resuming compliance with the agreement. After the meeting, many parties said that the meeting was “constructive”.
In the afternoon of the same day, the political director-level meeting of the Joint Committee on the Iran Nuclear Agreement was held at the Vienna Grand Hotel. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Mora, and was attended by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi and corresponding officials from Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Wang Qun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations in Vienna, attended.
According to reports, although the U.S. President’s Special Envoy for Iran Malley also led a delegation to arrive in Vienna, the U.S. representatives did not attend because the United States has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear agreement and Iran refused to talk directly with the United States. Attend this meeting. EU representatives serve as mediators to negotiate with all parties and then communicate the opinions of the United States and Iran through “shuttle diplomacy.”
Moura said on social media on the evening of the 6th that the meeting was constructive. The participants had the same desire and ambitious goals. They all hoped to start a joint diplomacy process. The expert group is responsible for implementing the nuclear agreement and lifting sanctions on Iran. Mora said that as coordinator, he would continue to hold separate consultations with relevant parties, including the United States.
According to a statement issued by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 6th, Araghchi stated at the meeting that the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran is the first and most necessary step for the U.S. to return to the Iran nuclear agreement. A step of. Iran is ready to immediately withdraw its measures to reduce compliance and fully implement the Iran nuclear agreement after verification of the lifting of sanctions.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Price said at a regular press conference on the 6th that although the United States did not have direct dialogue with Iran this time, the meeting was still a constructive step. He also said that the United States rejected Iran’s position that the United States should first lift all sanctions on Iran, but it was open to direct dialogue with Iran.
Tight supply led to styrene leading the rise in commodity futures
The main styrene futures rose more than 1% on Tuesday 3%, a substantial inflow of 301 million yuan, and the daily line recorded five consecutive gains.
Xie Wen, a senior analyst at Zhongda Futures, told the Futures Daily reporter that there were more overseas styrene device maintenance in April, and domestic styrene maintenance increased. The early operating rate dropped, not many styrene arrived at the port in the short term, and port inventory declined. Therefore, the supply of styrene eased. From the price difference point of view, the price difference between internal and external styrene continues to be inverted, export orders continue in April, and East China maintains destocking expectations due to export demand, bringing bullish confidence to the market. Non-integrated profits have rebounded, factories have maintained a high operating rate, and deliveries have increased, and social inventories are generally in a state of destocking. Affected by the rise in styrene prices, downstream EPS and PS prices have generally increased. EPS and PS operating rates are at a mid-range level, and ABS operating rates remain high. Due to the maintenance of multiple units of pure benzene, the supply pressure is not great, and the operating rate of downstream demand is good. Pure benzene continues to be destocked as expected, and crude oil prices rise, ethylene prices are stable, and the cost end� Shock styrene prices.
“The short-term trend of styrene futures is relatively strong, benefiting from the recent tight supply of goods in the domestic spot market, which has pushed prices to continue to rise. In April, the number of styrene shipments at the terminal dropped significantly, and with the With the centralized maintenance of domestic equipment, and the downstream operating rate is high, the pick-up speed at the terminal has increased slightly, resulting in tight supply in the domestic styrene spot market.” Zhang Xiao, chemical analyst at Guoyuan Futures, said that after the Tomb Sweeping Day, styrene will be sold during the day. Leading the rise, the 2105 main contract continued the pre-holiday rising trend and effectively stood on the 9,000 yuan/ton line. According to market statistics, Jiangsu’s domestic and imported styrene cargoes have totaled 45,000 tons since the beginning of April. Although it is higher than the 34,000 tons in the same period last year, the delivery volume has reached 54,000 tons, which is much higher than the 42,000 tons in the same period last year. Moreover, both total social inventory and commodity inventory have declined significantly month-on-month, and inventories are showing a tight trend.
“Jiangsu’s styrene social inventory continued to decline to a historical low for the same period. According to data on April 6, the arrival volume was less than the delivery volume, and the inventory dropped. Jiangsu’s social inventory was 110,500 tons. , a month-on-month decrease of 13,300 tons, and commodity inventory was 92,500 tons, a month-on-month decrease of 20,300 tons. Styrene inventories continued to decline, while traders had good replenishment needs, and downstream rigid demand purchases picked up, resulting in tight spot circulation, and spot sellers The price increased, and some buyers chased the higher price. Combined with the centralized maintenance of styrene equipment, the operation of new equipment fell short of expectations. Among them, the operation of Sinochem Hongrun’s 120,000 tons/year unit, which was originally planned to be put into operation in mid-April, was postponed to early May. The increase in styrene is limited, but downstream operating rates have picked up, demand is expected to improve, and styrene prices continue to rise.” said Yu Yangfeng, styrene researcher at Founder Mid-Term Futures.
It is understood that styrene futures prices have risen rapidly, driving up spot quotations. However, downstream resistance to high prices has limited market transactions. In the absence of significant improvement in terminal demand, downstream styrene purchases are cautious and focus on rigid needs.
Xie Wen believes that in the context of improving supply and demand, styrene prices are easy to rise but difficult to fall in the short term. Looking forward to the market outlook, pure benzene maintenance will be concentrated in the second quarter. The price of pure benzene may be relatively strong in the second quarter, and the cost side will obviously support the price of styrene. The rise in styrene prices may squeeze downstream profits. Whether styrene will continue its upward trend depends on changes in crude oil prices and styrene upstream and downstream operating rates.
Yu Yangfeng believes that crude oil is oscillating at a high level, pure benzene equipment will be intensively overhauled in April, and supply is tight. It is expected that the price of pure benzene will be firm, and the cost end of styrene will be significantly supported. On the supply side, styrene units will undergo centralized maintenance in April to offset the increase in production capacity brought about by the commissioning of new units of CNOOC, Shell and Sinochem Quanzhou. It is expected that the increase in styrene in April will be limited. In terms of inventory, styrene still has export arrangements for April and is expected to maintain a destocking trend. On the demand side, downstream operating rates have picked up, and demand for styrene has picked up. However, terminal demand has not improved significantly, and there is resistance to high-priced supply, which will suppress styrene price increases. Styrene prices are expected to fluctuate strongly in April, and attention needs to be paid to the improvement progress of downstream and terminal demand.
However, in Zhang Xiao’s view, considering that the current styrene price remains high, the downstream willingness to receive goods at high prices is not strong, and the superposition of Sinochem Quanzhou and Shell’s Phase II new styrene plant Formal output, although the start-up is insufficient, with the full release of new production capacity in the later period, and the maintenance of domestic and foreign equipment in May is basically completed, market pressure may be highlighted by then, and there may be certain constraints on the rebound space of prices in the later period. It is advisable to Proceed with caution. </p
