LPG液化气周报：内外盘走势分化-20251216

1. Report Industry Investment Rating - No relevant content provided. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - This week, the LPG market showed a volatile and weak trend, especially with a significant decline starting from the night session on Thursday. The decline was caused by multiple factors, including the weakening support from the cost side due to the weak international crude oil prices, the need to digest the warehouse receipt pressure, and the divergence between the domestic and international markets. The firmness of the international market led to high import costs for downstream chemical enterprises, continuous losses in PDH profits, a decrease in the operating rate, and a more pessimistic outlook for future operations. Additionally, the economic efficiency compared to naphtha cracking continued to deteriorate. On the other hand, the relatively warm winter in the Yangtze River Delta region and the high inventory levels at the third - tier stations indicated that the combustion demand did not exceed expectations and might even fall short [4]. - For trading strategies, it is recommended to adopt a short - selling strategy on rallies for single - side trading, wait and see for the 03/04 reverse spread opportunity in arbitrage trading, and watch for the put options opportunities of LPG2603 and LPG2604 [4]. 3. Summary by Directory 3.1 Comprehensive Analysis and Trading Strategies - Market Trend: The LPG market was volatile and weak this week, with a significant decline starting from Thursday night. The decline was due to weak international crude oil prices, warehouse receipt pressure, and the divergence between domestic and international markets. The high international prices led to high import costs for downstream chemical enterprises, resulting in continuous losses in PDH profits, a decrease in the operating rate, and a poor outlook for future operations. The economic efficiency compared to naphtha cracking also deteriorated. The relatively warm winter in the Yangtze River Delta region and high third - tier station inventories suggested that the combustion demand was not as expected [4]. - Trading Strategies: - Single - side: Maintain a short - selling strategy on rallies as the market is expected to be volatile and weak. - Arbitrage: Wait and see for the 03/04 reverse spread opportunity. - Options: Watch for the put options opportunities of LPG2603 and LPG2604 [4]. 3.2 Core Logic Analysis - Crude Oil: The crude oil market continued to face supply pressure. Although OPEC+ suspended production increases in the first quarter of next year due to expectations of weak seasonal demand and sluggish global economic growth, the expectation of oversupply was difficult to change in the short term. The interception of a sanctioned oil tanker by the US military and the possible seizure of more oil tankers transporting Venezuelan oil affected oil prices. The Fed's interest rate cut this week also boosted the macro - financial market [7][8][10]. - Supply from Refineries: The capacity utilization rate of domestic major crude oil refineries rebounded by 0.45% to 75.11% after three consecutive weeks of decline. Although it was at a relatively low level this year, it was normal compared to historical levels due to seasonal maintenance. With the end of autumn maintenance, the capacity utilization rate of major refineries is expected to increase. The capacity utilization rate of independent refineries slightly decreased by 0.25% to 64.34%, but it was still at a relatively high level this year and in historical terms. The overall supply is expected to remain stable as there are no major load adjustment plans for Shandong refineries next week [13]. - Supply from Imports: According to Clarkson data, the number of LPG ships arriving at Chinese ports rebounded, and the weekly LPG arrival volume increased by 175,000 tons. The freight rates of VLGC ships on three classic routes increased slightly, which was reflected in the FEI price. However, due to the divergence between domestic and international markets and the continuous losses of domestic PDH enterprises, the willingness for large - scale imports was weak [16]. - Inventory: The LPG port inventory increased slightly this week due to a small increase in arrivals, and the port storage capacity ratio continued to be below the seasonal average. The LPG inventory in refineries also increased slightly. The inventory capacity utilization rates at third - tier stations showed regional divergence, with continuous decreases in North China, high levels in the Yangtze River Basin and South China, and neutral levels in other regions, possibly due to uneven temperatures [17][20]. 3.3 Weekly Data Tracking - Price Data: The report presents various price - related data, including Brent and WTI crude oil prices, CP, C3, FEI C3 prices, LPG main contract prices, and their seasonal trends, as well as the economic efficiency comparison between CP/FEI and other related data [24]. - Spread Data: It shows the spread data between different regions' LPG prices (such as South China, East China, and Shandong), the basis seasonal trends of LPG in different regions, and the basis between the LPG main contract and the spot market [27]. - Profit Data on the Futures Market: The data includes import profits based on CP and FEI, PDH propylene and polypropylene profits based on CP and FEI, and the relationship between import prices, LPG futures prices, and profits [30]. - Profit Data in the Spot Market: It covers import profits based on FOB, CFR, PDH propylene and polypropylene profits based on FOB and CFR, and the profits of isomerization etherification and dehydrogenation etherification [34]. - Supply Data: The data shows the seasonal trends of LPG production, crude oil processing volume, the capacity utilization rates of major and independent refineries, and also provides the maintenance schedules of domestic major refineries and PDH plants [37][39][41]. - Temperature Forecast: The report provides the national temperature forecast, but no specific forecast content is given, only the data source is mentioned [43]. - Inventory Data: It presents the inventory capacity utilization rates of third - tier stations in different regions, the seasonal trends of LPG port inventory, and the seasonal trends of the port storage capacity ratio [47].