In the China benzene market, buying interest is not strong since derivative prices are decreasing. In addition, as crude prices are bearish, benzene prices might soften going forward. On the other hand, as several benzene facilities are scheduled to enter maintenance going forward, supply will also decrease. For this reason, even if prices fall, the magnitude of the decrease is perceived to be limited. Players are paying attention to the crude market and operations of derivative facilities going forward.

In the market of styrene monomer (SM), a major derivative of benzene, sellers are not in a hurry for sales since feedstock costs are rising while inventories at ports are not high. But demand is not strong and prices lack upward momentum. According to statistics, operation rates of production facilities in January were at 77.7% and production volumes were at 1.53 mil mt. Many SM facilities were shut down for regular maintenance and production cuts. From February, many facilities are scheduled to restart and operation rates are expected to be higher. But as the number of working days in February is less than January, production volumes might be lower.