Pure Benzene Rose Strongly, Caprolactam Increased 800 Yuan / Ton In September.

Pure benzene prices continued to rise strongly in September due to the high price of external markets and tight supply. By September 10th, Sinopec's pure benzene listing price rose to 5750 yuan / ton. Around 8 a.m. Beijing time in September 14th, Saudi Aramco, the world's largest crude oil processing center in Abqaiq and the second largest oil field in the country, was attacked by a fleet of 10 UAVs. Khurais For security reasons, Saudi Arabia temporarily closed down 5 million barrels / day of crude oil production capacity. Although the Saudi side claims that the affected capacity will resume in September 16th, the multilateral news shows that the full recovery of its capacity may take longer.

Affected by these emergencies, crude oil opened sharply after the holiday. International oil prices rose in September 16th, the biggest single day increase since 1988. WTI62.90 rose 8.05 US dollars / barrel; Brent 69.02 increased 8.80 US dollars / barrel. This was boosted by the strong rise in pure benzene. In September 16th, the East China market explored a high level of 6000 yuan / ton. In September 17th, Sinopec's pure benzene listing price increased by 150 yuan / ton to 5900 yuan / ton, and the price in the East China market rose to 5980-6200 yuan / ton.

Figure 2019 caprolactam price and profit trend chart

The cost has gone up strongly, which has injected the caprolactam market into action, and this year, due to the weakness of terminal demand and the serious decline of caprolactam profits, the caprolactam factory can only maintain breakeven or some of the higher cost businesses have already run out of money. In the face of the continuous rise of cost, caprolactam factory has a strong desire to stop inflation.

After the festival, the spot price of caprolactam factory has also been gradually increased. To September 17th, the price of caprolactam liquid in the East China market was quoted at 12600-12700 yuan / ton. Sinopec September listing price increased by 500 yuan / ton to 13200 yuan / ton.

From the perspective of supply and demand, the market heard the orchid plant maintenance plan after late September, and the 100 thousand tons of Luxi line was restarted in September 15th. The supply of caprolactam and the late loss were basically offset. With the recent preference for raw materials procurement in the polymerization plant, the caprolactam factory's overall inventory in the near term was low, and the support was still acceptable. Demand side, although the terminal demand is still in a weak position, but because the overall market driven by cost increases, although the downstream is inconsistent, but the price is hard to find, demand side passive follow-up.

On the whole, the price of caprolactam in September was raised by 800 yuan / ton for the two time. The caprolactam increase mainly came from cost push. The price of crude oil and benzene increased substantially. The cost of active caprolactam increased. The Sinopec listing has been transferred to 13200 yuan / ton. The price of the product is expected to continue to explore. However, because the terminal demand is still weak, the impetus to the downstream PA6 chips and spinning market will gradually weaken. Therefore, the continuation of the caprolactam market in the late stage still needs to wait and see the downstream follow-up.