According to the monitoring of SunSirs, the price of asphalt market continued to rise in a narrow range, mainly due to the rise of crude oil, the strengthening of cost support, and the obvious destocking of some refineries, which led to the tight spot resources, driving the price up. From December 16 to 23, the average price of asphalt producers in Shandong Province rose from 3,497 RMB/ton to 3,556 RMB/ton, up 1.67%, down 9.21% month on month, and still up 13.35% year on year.

On the cost side, on December 22, international crude oil futures closed lower. The settlement price of the main contract of US WTI crude oil futures was 77.49 dollars/barrel, down 0.80 dollars or 1.02%. The settlement price of the main contract of Brent crude oil futures was 81.67 dollars/barrel, down 0.91 dollars or 1.10%. The risk of economic recession is still there, and the market is worried about the continued interest rate increase of the Federal Reserve, which has overshadowed the impact of the decline in crude oil inventories caused by the US winter storm and the plan to replenish reserves. On the whole, the rising international crude oil price supports the refinery cost, and the asphalt cost is good for a short time.

On the supply side, the supply decreased this week, mainly due to the production reduction of individual refineries in North China, and the intermittent suspension of asphalt production by Yunnan Petrochemical in Southwest China.

On the demand side, there is a demand for centralized goods preparation in northwest and south China, while refineries in other regions mainly implement contracts.

It is predicted that the rise of international crude oil will support the sentiment of asphalt market to some extent. Influenced by a new round of cold air factors, the temperature drop in the northern region is obvious, and the demand has slowed down. At present, most of the demand is small purchase and warehousing, while the southern region still has a certain demand for acceleration. SunSirs asphalt analysts predict that China domestic asphalt market may rise in a narrow range in the short term.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.