化工日报-20260120

1. Report Industry Investment Ratings - Urea: ★☆☆ (One star, indicating a bullish/bearish bias, with a driving force for price increase/decrease, but limited operability in the market) [1] - Methanol: ★☆☆ [1] - Styrene: ☆☆☆ (White star, suggesting a relatively balanced short - term trend and poor market operability, with a wait - and - see approach) [1] - Polypropylene: ★☆☆ [1] - Plastic: ★★★ (Three stars, representing a clearer bullish/bearish trend and a relatively appropriate investment opportunity currently) [1] - PVC: ★☆☆ [1] - Caustic Soda: ★☆☆ [1] - PTA: ★☆☆ [1] - Ethylene Glycol: ★☆☆ [1] - Short - fiber: ★☆☆ [1] - Glass: ★☆☆ [1] - Soda Ash: ★☆☆ [1] - Bottle Chips: ★☆☆ [1] - Propylene: ★☆☆ [1] 2. Core Views - The overall chemical futures market is in a complex situation, with different products showing various trends and drivers. Some products are affected by supply - demand fundamentals, while others are influenced by policy, cost, and geopolitical factors. The market is generally in a state of shock, and different products have different investment opportunities and risks [2][3][5] 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Olefins - Polyolefins - Both olefin and polyolefin futures contracts closed down in intraday trading. The supply of domestic olefins tightened due to individual plant shutdowns, but weak downstream demand restricted the buying pace. For polyethylene, inventory was smoothly reduced, but the overall downstream operating rate declined slightly, and demand support is expected to weaken. For polypropylene, although there is policy support, demand is weak as downstream factories have completed year - end orders, and the future demand has been pre - consumed [2] 3.2 Polyester - PX and PTA prices fluctuated in the morning and rose rapidly in the afternoon, mainly driven by sentiment due to a rumored unplanned maintenance of a PK plant in the second quarter. Before and after the Spring Festival, demand weakens, and there is limited upward driving force. In the second quarter, there are opportunities for PX processing margin to go long on dips and for positive spreads after the spread narrows, subject to downstream demand. For ethylene glycol, domestic new plants are put into production while overseas plants shut down, with expected supply increase at home and decrease abroad. There is a risk of inventory accumulation in the future, but the supply - demand situation may improve in the second quarter. Short - fiber is mainly driven by cost, and attention should be paid to downstream stocking rhythm around the Spring Festival. Bottle chips' processing margin has recovered, but long - term capacity pressure remains [3] 3.3 Pure Benzene - Styrene - The pure benzene futures market adjusted in shock, while the spot price continued to rise. Supply decreased due to refinery production cuts and reduced imports, and demand increased, leading to significant inventory reduction at East China ports. The short - term market is expected to be strong in shock. The styrene futures market consolidated in intraday trading. The current supply - demand balance is tight, with limited port arrivals and expected further inventory reduction. Domestic producers' sales are good, and exports provide some support [5] 3.4 Coal Chemical Industry - The methanol market continued to decline. Import arrivals decreased significantly, but demand decreased due to plant shutdowns and reduced loads, and the inventory reduction speed is expected to slow down. Although there is support from the expected significant reduction in imports in the first quarter, the short - term market is expected to be in a stalemate. Urea prices are weakly stable. Daily production has recovered, downstream demand has increased, and production enterprises are reducing inventory. In the short term, the market may decline slightly, but in the long term, it is likely to fluctuate strongly within a range [6] 3.5 Chlor - alkali Industry - PVC showed an intraday shock trend. The cost pressure of ethylene - based PVC decreased, while that of calcium carbide - based PVC increased. The operating rate of some enterprises decreased, and the export volume was affected by price changes. It is expected that the price center will rise, and the strategy is to go long on dips. Caustic soda continued to be weak, with high inventory pressure. Although the price of liquid chlorine is strong and the integrated profit is acceptable, the industry is generally in a loss, and the future production reduction needs to be continuously monitored [7] 3.6 Soda Ash - Glass - Soda ash is operating weakly. Although the weekly inventory has decreased slightly, the overall pressure is still large. Supply pressure is high in the long term, and downstream procurement sentiment is poor. The strategy is to go short on rebounds and wait and see when the price drops near the cost. Glass futures prices have declined. Affected by weather and approaching the holiday, inventory may accumulate. The industry is losing money, but there is a rumor of new production line ignition, and supply may increase slightly. In the long term, the industry needs to reduce capacity. When the futures price drops to around 1000 yuan, there may be a long - buying opportunity [8]