Orient Securities·2025-05-19 02:17Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is "Positive (Maintain)" [6] Core Views - The report highlights that the recent US-China tariff policy has been implemented, leading to a further increase in oil prices. The focus remains on leading companies with strong alpha that are less correlated with oil prices, suggesting a bottom-up investment approach. There is significant uncertainty regarding the US tariff policy, and short-term attention should be on domestic demand and opportunities for domestic substitutes in new materials. The agricultural chemical sector, characterized by rigid demand and dividend attributes, is recommended for investment [13][14]. Summary by Sections 1. Core Views - The report emphasizes the importance of focusing on leading companies with strong fundamentals that are less affected by oil price fluctuations. It suggests a bottom-up investment strategy and highlights the agricultural chemical sector as a promising area due to its rigid demand [13]. 2. Oil and Chemical Price Information 2.1 Oil - As of May 16, Brent oil prices increased by 2.3% to $65.41 per barrel. The report notes that while oil prices are rising, the increase in US oil inventories has somewhat restrained the price growth. As of May 9, US commercial oil inventories stood at 441.8 million barrels, with a weekly increase of 3.5 million barrels [14]. 2.2 Chemicals - Among the 188 monitored chemical products, the top three price increases this week were for butadiene (up 21.1%), SBS (up 13.6%), and benzene (up 11.4%). Conversely, the largest declines were seen in liquid chlorine (down 464.3%), natural gas (down 8.1%), and formic acid (down 7.4%). The report attributes the significant rise in butadiene prices to increased downstream demand and supply constraints [15][16]. 3. Investment Recommendations - Recommended companies include: - Wanhua Chemical: Core product MDI shows recent profit improvement, with upcoming petrochemical and new material projects [13]. - Huangma Technology: A leader in specialty polyether, responding positively to previous macro demand pressures [13]. - Runfeng Co., Ltd.: A rare company with global formulation registration and sales channels [13]. - Guoguang Co., Ltd.: A leading domestic differentiated formulation company in the plant growth regulator sector [13]. - Hualu Hengsheng: Core product prices are recovering alongside falling coal prices, leading to improved price differentials [13].