The international crude oil market rose to US $70 / barrel, and continued to lack action. At present, the asphalt market is in the off-season with weak supply and demand. According to the price monitoring data of SunSirs, the price of asphalt was 3,223 RMB/ ton on March 16, and the price of asphalt has been stable in the near future.
From the demand side, March is still the off-season of domestic asphalt market demand, coupled with the callback after the international crude oil price rose to a high level, the wait-and-see mood of asphalt Market reappeared. In addition, the current terminal projects start less, and the rigid demand of asphalt is limited, so the current asphalt Market is still in a weak demand state. On the supply side, before the Spring Festival, all refineries shut down their asphalt plants for maintenance, and the operating rate of asphalt plants remained at a low level; so far, the operating rate of asphalt plants has not rebounded significantly, and the operating rate of asphalt plants in Shandong is at a low level of about 30%. According to the data, China's asphalt production continued to decline to 2.1168 million tons in February, down 443 million tons on a month on month basis. At present, the domestic asphalt market is weak in both supply and demand. The market price closely follows the international crude oil price change, and the recent asphalt price has been stable.
Previously, it was predicted that OPEC would reach an agreement on increasing production, but things went against its wishes. The OPEC meeting postponed increasing production. In addition, the unexpected attack on Saudi oil facilities and the US $1.9 trillion stimulus will push the international crude oil price to a high of $70/ barrel. SunSirs analysts believe that: international oil prices are soaring rapidly. Recently, international oil prices aim to stabilize US $70 / barrel, so it is less likely to continue to go up; from SunSirs weekly K-line, the upward momentum of international oil prices is weakened. Therefore, it is expected that the international crude oil price will remain at a high level, and the domestic asphalt price will be only slightly boosted. It is expected that China domestic asphalt price will rise steadily in the short term.
