Orient Securities·2025-05-06 01:46Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is "Positive (Maintain)" [6] Core Views - The report highlights a significant decline in oil prices, suggesting a focus on domestic demand and opportunities in domestic substitutes for new materials. It emphasizes the importance of companies with strong fundamentals that are less correlated with oil prices [13][14] - The report recommends several companies based on their market positions and recent performance improvements, particularly in the agricultural chemicals sector due to the ongoing spring farming season [13] Summary by Sections 1. Core Views - The report indicates a substantial drop in oil prices, with Brent crude down 8.3% to $61.29 per barrel as of May 2, 2025. This decline is attributed to OPEC+ production increases and global trade tensions affecting supply-demand dynamics [14] - The report suggests focusing on companies with strong alpha characteristics that are less affected by oil price fluctuations, particularly in the agricultural chemicals sector, which is experiencing robust demand [13] 2. Oil and Chemical Price Information - As of April 25, 2025, U.S. crude oil commercial inventories stood at 440.4 million barrels, with a weekly decrease of 270 thousand barrels. Gasoline inventories decreased by 4 million barrels to 225.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories increased by 900 thousand barrels to 107.8 million barrels [14] - Among 188 monitored chemical products, the top three price increases this week were for liquid chlorine (up 58.8%), natural gas (up 14.0%), and monoammonium phosphate (up 3.9%). The largest declines were seen in formic acid (down 7.7%), pure benzene (down 6.5%), and vitamin A (down 6.4%) [15] 3. Investment Recommendations - Recommended companies include: - Wanhua Chemical: Core product MDI shows recent profit improvement, with upcoming petrochemical and new material projects [13] - Huamao Technology: A leader in specialty polyether, responding well to previous macro demand pressures [13] - Runfeng Co., Ltd.: A rare company with global formulation registration and sales channels [13] - Guoguang Co., Ltd.: A leader in differentiated formulations in the plant growth regulator sector [13] - Hualu Hengsheng: Core product prices are recovering alongside falling coal prices, leading to improved margins [13]