【沥青日报】沥青BU日内震荡收涨，跟随原油价格反复波动

Market Performance - The BU 2602 contract closed at 2977, with a gain of 0.27%, reaching a high of 3020 and a low of 2965 during the day, accumulating a 0.7% increase over the past week [2][33] - The next month contract, BU 2603, saw a slight increase of 0.13%, maintaining a contango structure with lower near-term prices compared to longer-term prices [2][33] Spot Market - The price of Shandong heavy asphalt remained stable at 2920 CNY/ton, with a week-on-week decrease of 0.3% [2][33] - In East China, the heavy asphalt price decreased by 1.3% to 3090 CNY/ton, with a basis of 113 CNY/ton, down 75 CNY/ton over the week [2][33] Crack Spread Changes - The BU-Brent spread recorded -194 CNY/ton, with a weekly decrease of 14 CNY/ton, while the BU main contract fell by 0.6% and Brent by 0.1% [2][33] - Oil prices are influenced by geopolitical disturbances in Venezuela, leading to uncertainty in short-term price stabilization [2][33] Fundamental Changes - The dilution asphalt discount widened to -13.72 USD/barrel as of December 22, compared to -13.46 USD/barrel a week earlier, indicating a relative expansion [4][34] - Total social and domestic inventory data recorded 642,000 tons, reflecting a 0.9% increase week-on-week, indicating a slow de-inventory process [4][34] - The Shandong heavy asphalt market shows signs of stabilization, supported by winter storage prices, while supply risks are rising due to the U.S. seizing Venezuelan oil tankers [4][34] Short-term Outlook - Prices are expected to remain weak, constrained by reduced demand and inventory pressures, with attention on the winter storage market's performance [4][34] - OPEC+ production increases are likely to impact oil price levels, with asphalt prices expected to follow a downward trend [4][34] - Technically, asphalt prices are anticipated to continue fluctuating at low levels [4][34] Strategy - The recommended strategy is to adopt a wide-ranging oscillation approach [6][35]