At the end of the month, the asphalt market fluctuated. According to monitoring data from Shengyi Society, the ex factory price of heavy-duty asphalt # 70 in Shandong region was 3670 yuan/ton on July 1st, and as of July 28th, the ex factory price in Shandong region was 3700 yuan/ton.

On the supply side, the United States allows Chevron to resume oil extraction in Venezuela or may increase the supply of asphalt raw materials. Specific data shows that the asphalt production rate has slightly decreased by about 30% compared to the same period last year in the past week, showing an improvement compared to the same period last year. It is reported that the domestic asphalt production in July is expected to be 2.55 million tons, an increase of 144000 tons compared to the previous month, with a growth rate of 6%, and an increase of 490000 tons compared to the same period last year, with a growth rate of 24%.
From a downstream perspective, the operating rates of various industries downstream of asphalt have mostly increased during the week. Among them, the operating rate of road asphalt has increased by 2% to 27% month on month, but it is still at a relatively low level compared to the same period in recent years, constrained by funding and high temperatures caused by rainfall.
Overall, the panic of the global trade war has eased, but the cloud of the global trade war has not completely dissipated. Recently, crude oil prices have fluctuated, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has mentioned that a new round of work plans for stabilizing growth in the top ten key industries (including petrochemicals, building materials, etc.) will be released one after another in the near future. Policies such as surveying the list of old petrochemical and chemical equipment and phasing out outdated equipment for 20 years are more conducive to long-term expectations, and their actual impact on recent months is limited.
The North China region has concentrated on delivering pre contracts, resulting in a significant increase in shipment volume. The national shipment volume has increased by 8% month on month to 270000 tons, which is at a relatively low level. The inventory of asphalt refineries has fallen and is still at a low level compared to the same period in recent years. The impact of rainfall at the end of the month has decreased, and it is expected that asphalt will fluctuate in the near future.