¥4,850/ton — Asphalt futures rose 2.36% on the day, the only petroleum product with notable gains today and the strongest increase in three weeks. This is not a technical rebound, but a signal of seasonal demand rigidity materializing. Starting late October, maintenance projects on major trunk roads in East and North China have entered concentrated handover phase; terminal daily asphalt consumption has increased sequentially, while refinery runs remain stable — unchanged despite the dual decline in crude oil prices — indicating clear market expectation for the final pre-winter storage demand. More critically, the pace of social inventory drawdown has accelerated: inventory drawdown in East China has quickened, and days-of-supply have fallen to low levels, approaching warning thresholds. This signals a shift from观望 to active restocking by traders and end-users. SNSUC platform data shows import inquiry volume surged over the past five trading days, with Busan–Shanghai bonded transshipment accounting for over 40%, confirming the front-loading of offshore procurement. Notably, fuel oil futures edged down 0.19% to ¥5,228/ton; the asphalt–fuel oil cracking spread widened to -¥378/ton, the lowest this year — not reflecting asphalt weakness, but rather fuel oil’s passive pressure from power-generation demand, further highlighting asphalt’s infrastructure-driven independence from the broader energy chain. For SNSUC clients, current asphalt pricing does not yet reflect the rapid post-November-construction pullback risk; however, should Brent fall below $108 or East China social inventory drawdown sustainably slow, the restocking window will effectively close. Importers are advised to pause new orders above ¥4,920/ton; transshipment clients may use blockchain-based warehouse receipts to lock in November first-half vessel schedules and hedge against volatility in the final delivery week.