1. Report Industry Investment Ratings - Crude oil: Weakening trend with shocks, investors should adopt a weakening trend with shocks mindset and set the 5 - day moving average as the stop - loss point [4] - Asphalt: High - valued futures prices await a decline, absolute prices are over - valued, and the monthly spread is expected to decline with the increase of warehouse receipts [8] - High - sulfur fuel oil: Weak and volatile [4] - Low - sulfur fuel oil: Futures prices follow crude oil and fluctuate weakly [4] - Methanol: Spot prices are falling, futures prices fluctuate [4] - Urea: Positive export expectations, market confidence restored, the market rebounds upward [4] - Ethylene glycol: Port inventory accumulation is not continuous, prices have support at the bottom [4] - PX: There is short - term support at the bottom [4] - PTA: Costs are supported, supply - demand drivers are limited, and there is no inventory accumulation pressure [4] - Short - fiber: Fluctuates following upstream costs [4] - Bottle chips: Costs have certain support, self - driven factors are limited [4] - PP: Good refinery profits suppress valuations, fluctuates weakly [4] - Propylene: Inventory pressure is not large, PL fluctuates in the short term [4] - Plastic: Supported by maintenance, fluctuates [4] - Pure benzene: Driven by insufficient factors, fluctuates within a narrow range [4] - Styrene: Peak - season stockpiling has begun one after another, but the expected demand is limited, and the overall situation is average [4] - PVC: Anti - dumping measures pressure demand, be cautious and bearish [4] - Caustic soda: Spot prices stabilize and rebound, the market is cautiously optimistic [4] 2. Core Views - The geopolitical situation in the crude oil market is gradually easing, and the market is trending weakly. The chemical industry follows and fluctuates. The pattern of chemical products is slightly stronger than that of crude oil, especially the aromatics segment is boosted by the strong gasoline cracking spread [2][3] - The crude oil market faces continuous inventory accumulation pressure, and attention should be paid to geopolitical disturbances. The high - valued asphalt futures prices are expected to decline. High - sulfur fuel oil fluctuates weakly, and low - sulfur fuel oil follows crude oil and fluctuates weakly. The methanol spot price is falling, and the futures price fluctuates. Urea has positive export expectations, and the market rebounds. Ethylene glycol has support at the bottom due to non - continuous port inventory accumulation. PX has short - term support, PTA has cost support and no inventory accumulation pressure, short - fiber follows upstream costs, bottle chips have cost support, PP fluctuates weakly, propylene fluctuates in the short term, plastic fluctuates with maintenance support, pure benzene fluctuates narrowly, styrene's demand is limited, PVC is cautiously bearish, and caustic soda is cautiously optimistic [4] 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Market News and Main Logic of Each Variety Crude oil - Market news: Ukraine plans to buy $100 billion worth of US weapons with European funding, and reach a $50 billion agreement with US companies to produce drones. Multiple Palestinian factions agree to a cease - fire proposal. Ukraine attacks a Russian oil pump station [7] - Main logic: OPEC+ production increases lead to supply pressure, global on - land crude oil inventories accumulate against the season, and overseas refined oil gasoline inventories are high. Future crude oil inventories face double pressure from the peak and decline of refinery operations and OPEC+ accelerated production increases, and the monthly spread is under pressure. Oil prices are expected to continue to fluctuate weakly, and attention should be paid to short - term disturbances from Russia - Ukraine negotiations [7] Asphalt - Market news: The main asphalt futures contract closes at 3461 yuan/ton, and the spot prices in East China, Northeast China, and Shandong are 3730 yuan/ton, 3880 yuan/ton, and 3580 yuan/ton respectively [8] - Main logic: EIA significantly lowers the oil price forecast, the Russia - US Alaska meeting exceeds expectations, the end of the Russia - Ukraine conflict drives the geopolitical premium to decline. The asphalt - fuel oil spread is still high, driving refinery operations to return. The demand for asphalt is not optimistic, and the current valuation is higher than that of crude oil, rebar, low - sulfur fuel oil, and high - sulfur fuel oil [8] High - sulfur fuel oil - Market news: The main high - sulfur fuel oil contract closes at 2691 yuan/ton [8] - Main logic: EIA significantly lowers the oil price forecast and raises OPEC production. The market is affected by factors such as increased tariffs, OPEC production increases, and the easing of the Russia - Ukraine conflict. China raises the fuel oil import tariff, and the demand for high - sulfur fuel oil feedstock decreases. The high - sulfur fuel oil cracking spread is still high and is supported by the weakening of crude oil [9] Low - sulfur fuel oil - Market news: The main low - sulfur fuel oil contract closes at 3436 yuan/ton [11] - Main logic: Low - sulfur fuel oil follows the weakening of crude oil. Although the diesel cracking spread has risen recently, low - sulfur fuel oil is affected by factors such as the decline in shipping demand, green energy substitution, and high - sulfur substitution. The domestic refined oil supply pressure is expected to be transmitted to low - sulfur fuel oil, and it is expected to maintain a low - valuation operation [11] PX - Market news: On August 18, PX CFR China Taiwan price is 828(+4) dollars/ton, PX Korea FOB price is 806(+4) dollars/ton, etc. [13] - Main logic: Afternoon Asian trading session, crude oil prices rebound slightly, and PX follows the cost to strengthen. Fundamentally, maintenance devices are restarting one after another, and the load is slightly increasing. The polyester peak season is approaching, and demand support is gradually strengthening. PX is in a tight supply - demand balance with low inventory, and the short - term downside space is expected to be limited [13] PTA - Market news: On August 18, PTA spot price is 4665(+6) yuan/ton, etc. [14] - Main logic: The cost has short - term support. Fundamentally, the supply side has a slight decline in load due to device maintenance, and downstream polyester and textile industries show signs of recovery. PTA's inventory accumulation pressure in August is narrowing. It is expected that short - term prices will mainly follow cost fluctuations [14] Pure benzene - Market news: On August 18, the closing price of the pure benzene 2603 contract is 6179, with a change of - 0.05%, etc. [15] - Main logic: The geopolitical situation is expected to ease further, and the International Energy Agency lowers the global demand growth forecast, which puts pressure on the oil market. Asian naphtha downstream ethylene cracking device operating rates remain low. Pure benzene performs stronger than the cost side this week, mainly affected by factors such as coking production restrictions, downstream rigid - demand restocking, and port inventory reduction. Downstream operating rates increase, but price increases are weak, and profits decline [17] Styrene - Market news: On August 18, the East China styrene spot price is 7250(0) yuan/ton, etc. [17] - Main logic: Recently, styrene prices have fluctuated weakly. Positive factors include a slight improvement in the pure benzene market and the start of peak - season stockpiling by downstream industries. Negative factors are more dominant, such as the new production capacity of Jingbosidaruixin device, the expected increase in existing supply, and poor white - goods production scheduling data [18] Ethylene glycol - Market news: On August 18, the EG main contract 2509 closes at 4346, a decrease of 28 from the previous trading day, etc. [18] - Main logic: Coal prices are under pressure, and the cost of ethylene glycol has limited guidance. Fundamentally, the supply side has great pressure, but port inventory accumulation is not continuous, and the overall accumulation range is not large. It is expected that prices will have strong support under the low - inventory pattern [19] Short - fiber - Market news: On August 18, the Zhejiang market polyester short - fiber spot price rises by 10 to 6490 yuan/ton ex - factory, etc. [20] - Main logic: The supply - demand fundamentals change little, downstream spinning mill loads and inventories remain stable, market orders start slowly, and raw material support is average. The absolute value of short - fiber follows raw material fluctuations and fluctuates in the short term [22] Bottle chips - Market news: On August 18, the East China market polyester bottle chip price closes at 5890, with a change of - 10, etc. [22] - Main logic: Rising raw material prices support bottle chips. Fundamentally, there are few changes. Attention should be paid to the restart of factory devices in September. Short - term prices follow upstream costs, and processing fees fluctuate within a range [23] Methanol - Market news: On August 18, the low - end price of methanol in Taicang spot is 2290 yuan/ton (- 20), etc. [24] - Main logic: On August 18, methanol futures prices fluctuate. The Inner Mongolia market price is slightly adjusted downward, but trading is okay. Port inventories increase. Downstream olefins are under pressure due to falling oil prices, which also affects methanol. Considering the high certainty of overseas shutdowns in the far - month, long positions in the far - month can still be considered later [24] Urea - Market news: On August 18, 2025, the high - end and low - end prices of urea in the Shandong market are 1740 yuan/ton (+ 30 yuan/ton) and 1730 yuan/ton (+ 30 yuan/ton) respectively [24] - Main logic: Based on the actual export data from May to July and the existing export quota of 320 tons, the average monthly export in August and September needs to reach one million tons to meet the quota. Although the fundamental supply - demand is loose, market confidence recovers rapidly due to high export profits and expected high export volumes, and the market rebounds [25] Plastic (LLDPE) - Market news: On August 18, the mainstream price of LLDPE spot is 7300(0) yuan/ton, etc. [27] - Main logic: On August 18, the main plastic contract declines slightly. Oil prices fluctuate weakly in the short term, and there is still capital game at the macro level. The plastic's own fundamentals are under pressure, and overseas factors also need attention [27] PP - Market news: On August 18, the mainstream transaction price of East China PP drawing is 7000(- 30) yuan/ton, etc. [28] - Main logic: On August 18, the main PP contract fluctuates and declines. Oil prices fluctuate weakly in the short term, propane prices are weak, PP supply is increasing, demand is in the off - peak to peak - season transition, and the export window is limited. Attention should be paid to Sino - US tariff games [29] Propylene (PL) - Market news: On August 18, PL fluctuates, and the low - end market price of Shandong PL is 6400 yuan/ton [29] - Main logic: On August 18, the main PL contract fluctuates. Propylene enterprise inventories are controllable, and offers are slightly increased. Downstream factories follow demand, and high - price transactions are limited. The short - term market follows PP fluctuations, and the PP - PL polypropylene processing fee is the focus of the market [29] PVC - Market news: The benchmark price of East China calcium - carbide - based PVC is 4880(- 50) yuan/ton, etc. [31] - Main logic: At the macro level, there are still expectations of anti - involution, and policy orientation should be noted. At the micro level, PVC fundamentals are under pressure. Upstream autumn maintenance is about to start, downstream demand is rigid, export expectations are under pressure due to anti - dumping measures, and cost support is weak [31] Caustic soda - Market news: The converted - to - 100% price of 32% caustic soda in Shandong is 2625(+ 63) yuan/ton, etc. [32] - Main logic: At the macro level, there are still expectations of anti - involution, and policy orientation should be noted. At the micro level, the fundamentals are improving marginally. Alumina demand is increasing, non - aluminum demand is entering the peak season, and there is some restocking in the middle and lower reaches. Shandong maintenance increases in mid - to late August, and attention should be paid to whether the difficulty in liquid chlorine sales will force alkali plants to reduce production [32] 3.2 Variety Data Monitoring Energy and Chemical Daily Indicator Monitoring - Inter - period spreads: Brent M1 - M2 is 0.55 with a change of 0, Dubai M1 - M2 is 0.9 with a change of 0.02, etc. [34] - Basis and inventory receipts: The basis of asphalt is 107 with a change of - 52, and the inventory receipts are 72850, etc. [35] - Inter - variety spreads: 1 - month PP - 3MA is - 140 with a change of 12, 1 - month TA - EG is 354 with a change of 50, etc. [37]