​China’s foreign trade of import and export was off to a good start and developed steadily month by month in the first quarter of 2023.

The price of international crude oil in April was supported by tighter supply and the end of the high-level consolidation period of Europe and America crude oil futures tended to go down, which provided some positive support to the cost end of the chemical market. As a result, the price of some chemical products showed a strong upward trend during the month, however, many of them are accompanied by the supply-side tightening, and at present, the profit improvement of the downstream consumer industry is limited.