According to the Commodity Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the styrene market has shown a strong upward trend this week. The average price at the beginning of the week was 6964 yuan/ton, and the average price over the weekend was 7116 yuan/ton, with a 2.18% increase during the week.
News: On January 15th, international crude oil futures fell sharply. The settlement price of the March WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $59.08 per barrel, a decrease of $2.80 or 4.5%. The settlement price of Brent crude oil futures for March was $63.76 per barrel, a decrease of $2.76 or 4.1%.
Cost wise: The pure benzene market has significantly increased this week. The deterioration of the situation in the Middle East has driven up crude oil prices, coupled with the strong rise of downstream styrene, which has driven the demand for pure benzene and actively boosted the pure benzene market.
Supply and demand side: The resumption of styrene production this week fell short of expectations, and supply side support has strengthened. Recently, due to the increase in maintenance of overseas styrene plants, there has been a real increase in inquiries and actual transactions for China’s styrene exports, which has driven further destocking of port inventories and a significant improvement in the fundamentals of styrene. There is little change in downstream 3S operation, with seasonal fluctuations being the main factor,
Styrene external market: On January 15th, the closing price of styrene in the Asian region fell by $2.5/ton, with closing prices of $890-900/ton FOB Korea and $900-910/ton CFR China.
Market forecast: Recently, the price of styrene will strengthen, and downstream resistance to high priced raw materials will increase. There is a high possibility of weakness in the later stage of raw material pure benzene, and it is expected that the styrene market will consolidate at a high level in the short term.

1、 Trend analysis
According to the monitoring of nickel prices by Shengyi Society, nickel prices have fluctuated and risen this week. As of the weekend, the spot nickel price was 149150 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.37% from the beginning of the week and a year-on-year increase of 15.97%.
According to the weekly chart of Shengyi Society, nickel prices have fallen 5 times and risen 7 times in the past 12 weeks, with nickel prices rapidly rising recently.
Nickel industry chain
Macroscopically speaking, at the beginning of 2026, Trump first launched a crackdown on Venezuela and seized resources, and then exerted pressure on Greenland, leading to an increase in risk aversion. The US dollar seized the opportunity to rebound, oil prices fell, stock markets fluctuated, precious metals such as gold and silver retreated, and copper prices fell under pressure. The central bank decisively lowered the refinancing and rediscount interest rates.
On the supply side: Indonesia’s nickel ore quota has been significantly reduced, coupled with the turmoil in the mining areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, global nickel ore supply is expected to decrease by 20%. LME and domestic exchange inventories continue to decrease, although the absolute level is still at a high level, the outflow trend weakens the price suppression effect. The production of refined nickel is expected to decrease month on month, and the short-term surplus pattern has narrowed under the reduction in production. However, the overall spot supply in the market is still relatively sufficient. In November, China’s refined nickel production was 25800 tons, a decrease of 28.1% compared to the previous month.
In terms of demand, the overall downstream demand for electroplating is relatively stable, and it is difficult to see growth in the later stage; The demand for alloys still accounts for the majority, with good demand for alloys in military and shipping industries. Enterprises are buying at low prices, and the “Two Sessions” emphasize the long-term benefits of defense spending. The demand for stainless steel is generally low, and the depletion of social inventory is slow. There may be an increase in supply pressure due to the improvement of steel mill profits. Spot transactions are still cautious, and nickel iron prices have slightly increased recently. In terms of nickel sulfate, downstream ternary production decreased slightly after the end of the peak season reserve period, and there were constraints on the production of new capacity in the medium term. Recently, prices have fallen.
In summary, under the tightening expectations of the mining industry, the bullish sentiment in the nickel iron market is high, and the prices of iron mills and trade nickel iron have risen. The demand for stainless steel terminals is relatively weak during the off-season; Downstream Sanyuan mainly consumes previous inventory, resulting in a month on month decline in production scheduling. Under the rapid rise in nickel prices, the increase in overseas warehouse deliveries has brought inventory pressure. It is expected that nickel prices will continue to fluctuate strongly.

Cobalt prices fluctuated and fell in January
According to the Commodity Cobalt Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the cobalt price on January 15th was 455800 yuan/ton, which fluctuated and fell by 1.36% compared to the cobalt price of 462100 yuan/ton on January 1st. The recovery of cobalt exports in the Democratic Republic of Congo has led to an increase in supply expectations in the cobalt market, coupled with a decrease in demand in January, resulting in a volatile drop in cobalt prices.
Supply situation of cobalt market
On December 22, 2025, relevant news from the Democratic Republic of Congo: Tengkefenggulumei Mining officially launched its first shipment sampling under the new export quota system. With the continuous promotion of cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is expected that cobalt supply will resume in the future. The global supply of cobalt raw materials is highly concentrated in a few countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has significantly reduced its export quotas and set customs clearance deadlines. The shortage of cobalt supply in the market is difficult to change; However, the planned nickel cobalt projects that can provide supplementary resources are delayed in infrastructure construction, and their production progress is later than expected, making it difficult to effectively fill the supply gap in the cobalt market in the short term; Factors such as the improvement of environmental standards have further constrained the short-term release of production capacity, and the overall shortage of cobalt market remains.
Cobalt market demand trend
Due to the influence of the New Year and Spring Festival holidays, January and February are traditionally the off-season for sales, and the production enthusiasm of enterprises is poor, with many car companies shutting down production. The enthusiasm for purchasing power batteries for new energy vehicles has decreased, and the demand for cobalt in the cobalt market has declined during the off-season for power battery consumption. The latest performance guidelines released by some leading companies in the industry chain show that their business focus is accelerating towards high-end products, such as high nickel cathode materials. In terms of power batteries, which are the most important demand in the cobalt market, the weak demand in the cobalt market has increased the pressure of falling due to the support of rising cobalt prices.
Market Overview and Future Outlook
Business Society data analysts believe that the slight decline in cobalt prices in January is mainly due to the long-term expectation of supply recovery in the cobalt market and the result of the current weak demand game. In the future, the supply-demand game is difficult to sustain, and due to logistics delays, the arrival time of cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo to China should be concentrated in April. Supply shortage is the main tone of the first quarter, while in terms of demand, downstream stocking before the Spring Festival will usher in a small peak in cobalt market demand. In addition, with the resumption of production by car companies after the holiday, the supply shortage in the cobalt market may erupt in a concentrated manner. Cobalt prices may rebound in late January or experience a small surge in February.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, on January 14, 2025, the reference ex factory price of cyclohexanone in Shandong Province, China was 6350 yuan/ton, which was basically the same as January 1; Compared with December 1st (cyclohexanone price reference 6387 yuan/ton), the price has decreased by 37 yuan/ton, a decrease of 0.59%.
In early January, the cyclohexanone market in Shandong showed a fluctuating trend of “first stabilizing, then falling, and then rebounding”
From the commodity market analysis system of Shengyi Society, it can be seen that in early January, the market performance of Shandong cyclohexanone was stable, with little fluctuation in the market, and the overall market was in a sideways consolidation stage, with limited price elasticity. On the 9th, the market price of cyclohexanone in Shandong Province was adjusted narrowly downwards, with the market price dropping to around 6300 yuan/ton. Subsequently, the market continued to consolidate and operate. On the 14th, with the support of the cost side, the cyclohexanone market experienced a correction, and the overall price returned to the level at the beginning of the month. As of January 14th, the market price reference for cyclohexanone in Shandong is around 6350-6400 yuan/ton.
Analysis of Core Influencing Factors
In terms of cost: At the beginning of the month, the raw material pure benzene fluctuated narrowly, providing stable cost support for cyclohexanone. Subsequently, the pure benzene market experienced a slight decline due to fluctuations in crude oil prices and weak downstream demand. The production cost support for cyclohexanone weakened, and the company passively lowered its quotation to ensure shipment volume. Subsequently, the pure benzene market rebounded due to the rebound in crude oil prices and the rise in prices by manufacturers. The production cost of cyclohexanone supported the repair, and companies raised their quotations accordingly.
In terms of supply and demand: In early January, the overall performance of the cyclohexanone market supply side was relatively stable. During the period of cyclohexanone price reduction, downstream demand overall improved by restocking on dips. After the cyclohexanone market rebounded, market demand recovered weakly.
Market analysis in the future
At present, the trading atmosphere in the cyclohexanone market is light and mild, and downstream pre holiday stocking has not yet been fully opened. The overall supply and demand transmission in the market is weak and stable. The cyclohexanone data analyst of Shengyi Society predicts that the short-term cyclohexanone market in Shandong will mainly operate in a range of fluctuations, and specific changes in supply and demand news need to be closely monitored.

According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of Shengyi Society, the 1 # tin ingot market in East China showed a strong upward trend this week (1.1-11.13), with an average market price of 326340 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month and 381240 yuan/ton as of January 13, an increase of 16.82%.
The domestic tin price has once again risen strongly, with the main contract price of Shanghai tin significantly increasing, and the domestic spot tin market price has also risen significantly. Although there was a slight technical correction during this period, the overall focus shifted upwards, and the recent trend is the result of the combined effects of macro expectations, industry fundamentals, and short-term supply disturbances.
Macroscopic perspective
Although the expectation of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut has fallen slightly, it is still in the cycle of interest rate cuts, and the expectation of global liquidity easing provides liquidity support for the metal market. As the world’s largest tin exporting country, Indonesia’s mining quota approval progress and export policy dynamics have always been like the “Damocles Sword” hanging over the market, keeping the market vigilant at all times. At the same time, domestic industrial policies related to new quality productivity fields such as artificial intelligence and high-end manufacturing are accelerating their implementation, adding certainty to the long-term demand for tin applications.
supply side
Continued mining disturbance: Although there is a peace agreement in the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, local areas remain unstable, and there is uncertainty in tin production and transportation; The progress of resuming production in the Wa State of Myanmar has been affected by the approval process and is not as expected, resulting in significant fluctuations in tin ore imports.
Indonesia’s exports are restricted: In the application for export quotas, Indonesia’s short-term exports have sharply decreased, further exacerbating the global shortage of tin ore supply.
Low inventory: Global tin inventory continues to decline, with both exchange receipts and social inventory at historical lows. Domestic inventory has decreased by 1100 tons compared to the beginning of the month, reaching a total of 6245 tons.
Demand side
The demand in the semiconductor market is strong: global semiconductor sales continue to rise, with a year-on-year growth of 21.2% from January to October 2025. Due to the strong demand for tin in the semiconductor industry, especially in high-end chip manufacturing and packaging.
Emerging fields drive demand growth: With the rapid development of emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and photovoltaics, tin, as a key solder material, continues to increase in demand, and the long-term demand trend presents a good development prospect.
The spot market has been affected by the recent surge in tin prices, and downstream purchasing sentiment has been sluggish. The pressure of raw material costs is gradually transmitted downwards along the industrial chain, and downstream enterprises mostly adopt on-demand procurement, with weak willingness to replenish inventory. There are not many resources circulating in the spot market, although the premium has decreased.
comprehensive analysis
Recently, the active performance of the foreign market has had a driving effect on domestic prices. Currently, the overseas market has experienced a decline after rising, turning into a range oscillation trend, and it is expected that Shanghai Wuxi will also enter a synchronized oscillation trend. Under the support of strong fundamentals in the short term, it is expected to maintain a strong pattern, with the price center at a high level, which may potentially impact the 400000 mark. But we should also be vigilant about the insufficient support on the demand side of the spot market and the risk of a pullback.