Industry supply continues to optimize, petrochemical ETF (159731) stagflation adjustment presents low-position layout opportunity

As of 10:00 on March 18, the Petrochemical ETF (159731) decreased by 1.36%. Most holdings experienced adjustments, with only Oriental Shenghong, Shengquan Group, and Tongcheng New Materials showing gains. In terms of liquidity, the Petrochemical ETF had a turnover rate of 2.97% during the trading session. The latest shares outstanding for the Petrochemical ETF reached 1.573 billion, with a current scale of 1.624 billion yuan.

In February 2026, influenced by tense Middle East tensions and a significant decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, the oil price center increased month-on-month. Due to rising raw material oil prices, the price spread of most chemical products narrowed compared to the previous month. As of the end of February, the chemical CCPI–raw material price spread was 2,470, placing it at the 15th percentile since 2012.

Huatai Securities believes that, affected by the slowdown in global macro demand and the continued large-scale production in the chemical industry’s supply side in H1 2025, the PPI for chemical raw materials and products has declined year-on-year for the full year of 2025 and since 2026. The industry is still restocking. With the gradual recovery of supply under the theme of “countering internal competition,” along with the recovery of domestic demand and exports, we believe bulk chemicals are likely to experience an economic revival.

The Petrochemical ETF (159731) and its associated funds (017855/017856) closely track the CSI Petrochemical Industry Index. According to the Shenwan first-level industry distribution, basic chemicals account for 61.18%, and the petroleum and petrochemical sector accounts for 31.59%, allowing investors to share in the profit recovery of downstream chemical products. With industry structure optimization and supply-demand adjustments, the long-term industry narrative is improving.

Daily Economic News