Chinese benzene market remained flat on Wednesday, with sellers reluctant to sell at low cost.
The market transactions of pure benzene in East China were in the range of 7,700-7,750 yuan/ton. In South China, the transactions took place in the range of 7,500-7,600 yuan/ton and in North China the range was 7,550-7,650 yuan/ton.
The market witnessed a moderate effect of price adjustment by Sinopec and there were short-term speculative purchases, too. The sellers got boost in morale due to the increase in the listing price of Sinopec, and they remained reluctant to sell goods at lower cost.
While the short-term bullish mentality prevailed, buyer's response to the increased price remained light, and trading remained flat. In short term, the benzene market is expected to decline slightly.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Sales Brand of China National Petroleum plans to increase its outside selling price of benzene by 200 yuan/ton, taking its implementation price to 7,600 yuan/ton. However, the supply will be mainly limited to companies within China National Petroleum, and supply for outside sales is scarce.