Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided in the given content Core Viewpoints - For PTA, the near - end TA device has a slight reduction in load, the polyester load remains stable, and the inventory continues to decline. However, with the concentrated introduction of polyester maintenance plans, the basis weakens, and the spot processing fee shrinks. In the future, the domestic production of PX remains high due to high profits, and the overseas start - up recovers, resulting in a downward revision of the destocking amplitude for the far - month. The short - term upward space is limited, but the overall pattern has not changed before the new device is put into production. Attention should be paid to the progress of the overseas start - up increase [4]. - For MEG, the near - end domestic oil - based production has a partial reduction in load, and overseas maintenance increases month - on - month. The port inventory decreases at the beginning of the week, but the arrival forecast rebounds during the week, and the basis remains weak. The coal - based efficiency improves month - on - month. The overall inventory accumulation continues, and the pattern is expected to remain weak under the continued new production. Attention should be paid to the opportunity of short - selling on rebounds [4]. - For polyester staple fiber, the near - end device operates stably, the start - up rate is maintained at 97.6%, and the sales improve month - on - month, with a slight reduction in inventory. The downstream seasonal trend is expected to continue to weaken, and the start - up rate remains high with limited inventory pressure. It has a medium - low valuation and weak driving force, with limited overall contradictions. Attention should be paid to the situation of warehouse receipts [4]. Summaries by Related Contents PTA - **Price and Index Data**: From January 9th to 15th, 2026, the price of crude oil decreased from 6540 to 6380, the PX processing fee fluctuated slightly, the PTA load index remained at 80.4, and the polyester load remained at 78.2. The average daily trading basis of PTA was 2605(-64) [4]. - **Device Changes**: Yisheng New Materials' 3.6 million - ton device and Ineos' 1.25 million - ton device were under maintenance. The near - end TA device had a slight reduction in load, and the start - up rate decreased month - on - month [4]. - **Market Situation**: The polyester load remained stable, the inventory continued to decline, but the polyester maintenance plans were concentrated, the basis weakened, and the spot processing fee shrank. The domestic start - up of PX was at a high level, and the overseas load increase led to a month - on - month contraction of PXN, with the disproportionation benefit weakening and the isomerization benefit remaining high [4]. MEG - **Price and Index Data**: From January 9th to 15th, 2026, the price of MEG had small fluctuations, the coal - based MEG profit improved month - on - month, and the basis for 05 was around (-145) [4]. - **Device Changes**: Inner Mongolia Yankuang's 400,000 - ton device increased its load. The near - end domestic oil - based production had a partial reduction in load, and overseas maintenance increased month - on - month [4]. - **Market Situation**: The port inventory decreased at the beginning of the week due to low arrivals, but the arrival forecast rebounded during the week, and the basis remained weak. The overall inventory accumulation continued, and the absolute inventory was not low. The pattern was expected to remain weak under the continued new production [4]. Polyester Staple Fiber - **Price and Index Data**: The spot price was around 6472, and the market basis for 02 was around - 60. From January 9th to 15th, 2026, the prices of related products such as 1.4D cotton - type staple fiber remained relatively stable [4]. - **Device and Production**: The near - end device operated stably, the start - up rate was maintained at 97.6%, the sales improved month - on - month, and the inventory decreased slightly. The downstream yarn - making start - up rate remained stable, the raw material inventory decreased, and the finished product inventory increased [4]. - **Market Situation**: After the raw material price adjustment, the spot processing fee of staple fiber improved, but the futures price remained low. The downstream seasonal trend was expected to continue to weaken, and the start - up rate remained high with limited inventory pressure [4]. Natural Rubber and 20 - grade Rubber - **Price Data**: From January 9th to 15th, 2026, the prices of products such as US - dollar - denominated Thai standard rubber, US - dollar - denominated Thai mixed rubber, and Shanghai full - latex rubber had certain fluctuations. For example, the price of US - dollar - denominated Thai standard rubber increased from 1885 to 1920 [4]. - **Spread and Profit Data**: The spreads such as the difference between mixed rubber and RU main contract, and the processing profit of Thai standard rubber also changed. For example, the processing profit of Thai standard rubber increased from 3.8 to 5.2 [4].

Group 1: Report General Information - Report title: Aromatics and Rubber Morning Report [1] - Report date: August 20, 2025 [1] - Report team: Research Center's Energy and Chemicals Team [1] Group 2: Styrene Price and Profit Data - On August 19, 2025, ethylene (CFR Northeast Asia) was at 825, pure benzene (CFR China) at 747, and styrene (CFR China) at 890. Styrene in Jiangsu was 7280, in South China 7440, and EPS (East China common material) was 8100. PS (East China transparent benzene) was 7700, and ABS (0215A) was 9600 [4]. - Day - on - day changes on August 19: ethylene and pure benzene (CFR) unchanged, styrene (CFR) unchanged, styrene in Jiangsu +10, in South China +10, EPS - 150, PS - 50, ABS unchanged [4]. - Asian spread of pure benzene - naphtha was 161, styrene domestic profit - 292, EPS domestic profit 115, PS domestic profit - 162, ABS domestic profit - 926, all with no day - on - day change except EPS profit - 150 and PS profit - 50 [4]. Group 3: PTA Price and Data - On August 19, 2025, crude oil was 65.8, naphtha 575, PX CFR Taiwan 835, PTA domestic spot 4690, POY 150D/4 6750. Naphtha cracking spread was 92.26, PX processing margin 260.0, PTA processing margin 128, polyester gross profit 97 [12]. - Day - on - day changes: crude oil - 0.8, naphtha +4, PX +2, PTA +20, POY - 20, naphtha cracking spread +9.69, PX processing margin - 2.0, PTA processing margin +11, polyester gross profit - 42 [12]. - PTA spot transaction: average daily transaction basis was 2509(-9). Yisheng Hainan's 2 million - ton plant was under maintenance [12]. Outlook - Near - term TA start - up increased, polyester load rose slightly, inventory continued to accumulate, basis was weak, and spot processing fee was still low. PX domestic start - up rose slightly, overseas had both maintenance and restart, start - up declined slightly, PXN strengthened, disproportionation and isomerization benefits remained stable, and the US - Asia aromatics spread rebounded slightly. In the future, additional maintenance of TA increased due to low processing fees. Filament sales were weak but there was no further reduction in production in the short term. Bottle - grade PTA inventory decreased continuously at low start - up. Overall, polyester start - up was expected to stabilize and have upward flexibility, supply - demand was expected to improve, and opportunities to widen processing fees on dips could be considered [12]. Group 4: MEG Price and Data - On August 19, 2025, Northeast Asia ethylene was 825, MEG outer - market price 523, MEG inner - market price 4458, MEG in East China 4498, MEG far - month price 4455, MEG coal - based profit 372, MEG inner - market cash flow (ethylene) - 622, MEG total load 67.0, coal - based MEG load 80.5, MEG port inventory 54.7, non - coal - based load 60 [12]. - Day - on - day changes: Northeast Asia ethylene unchanged, MEG outer - market price +2, MEG inner - market price +17, MEG in East China +20, MEG far - month price +16, MEG coal - based profit +17, MEG inner - market cash flow (ethylene) unchanged, other loads and inventory unchanged [12]. - MEG spot transaction: basis was around 09(+87). Xinjiang Tianying's 150,000 - ton plant restarted [12]. Outlook - Near - term domestic plant restarts were postponed, start - up was stable, there was some unexpected overseas maintenance. Port inventory was expected to accumulate as arrivals increased and shipments were stable. Downstream inventory levels increased, basis was stable, and oil - based benefits improved. In the future, EG supply had postponed restarts and overseas unexpected maintenance, port inventory was expected to remain low with little short - term accumulation pressure. The situation was good and benefits were not low. In the far - month, inventory accumulation was expected due to the return of maintenance and new plant commissioning, but valuation was greatly affected by the subsequent evolution of the cost side, and it was expected to fluctuate widely. Attention should be paid to the restart progress of satellite plants [12]. Group 5: Polyester Staple Fiber Price and Data - On August 19, 2025, 1.4D cotton - type was 6555, low - melting point staple fiber 7330, virgin hollow 7060, imitation large - denier fiber 5700, pure polyester yarn 12100, polyester - cotton yarn 16300, virgin staple fiber load 91, recycled cotton - type load 50, polyester yarn operation 63, staple fiber profit 53, pure polyester yarn profit - 155, cotton - polyester staple difference 8520, viscose - polyester staple difference 6345 [12]. - Day - on - day changes: 1.4D cotton - type +5, other prices unchanged, loads and operation unchanged, staple fiber profit unchanged, pure polyester yarn profit - 5, cotton - polyester staple difference - 10, viscose - polyester staple difference - 5 [12]. - Spot information: spot price was around 6500, market basis was around 10 - 100 [12]. Outlook - Near - term Ningbo Dafa's technical transformation plant resumed, start - up increased slightly to 91.1%, sales were stable, and inventory remained the same. On the demand side, polyester yarn start - up increased, raw material inventory rose, finished product inventory continued to decline, and benefits were maintained. In the future, as polyester yarn finished product inventory continued to decline, downstream start - up might continue to rise. Although staple fiber supply might also increase, the overall space was limited. Considering that the futures processing fee was still in a low range, opportunities to widen processing fees on dips could be considered [12]. Group 6: Natural Rubber & 20 - grade Rubber Price and Data - On August 19, 2025, US - dollar Thai standard spot was 1805, US - dollar Thai mixed spot 1805, RMB mixed rubber 14630, Shanghai whole milk 14680, Shanghai 3L 14850, Thai latex 54.7, Thai cup lump 49.8, Yunnan latex 14300, Hainan latex 15700, butadiene rubber 11800, RU main contract 15875, NR main contract 12690 [12]. - Day - on - day changes: US - dollar Thai standard +5, US - dollar Thai mixed +5, RMB mixed rubber +50, Shanghai whole milk +95, Shanghai 3L +70, Thai latex +1, other prices unchanged or with small changes [12]. - Mixed - RU main contract basis was - 1245, US - dollar Thai standard - NR main contract 274, RU09 - RU01 - 750, RU main contract - NR main contract 3185, latex - cup lump 4.9, whole milk - mixed 50, 3L - mixed 220, mixed - butadiene rubber 2830, Thai standard processing profit 15, mixed internal - external price difference - 140, SHFE RU warehouse receipts 179570 [12]. - Day - on - day changes: mixed - RU main contract - 5, US - dollar Thai standard - NR main contract - 9, other spreads and profits with small changes or unchanged [12]. Outlook - Main contradictions: national visible inventory was stable at a low absolute level but did not decline seasonally; Thai cup lump price rebounded due to rain affecting tapping. Strategy: wait - and - see [12]