Recently, China domestic methanol market continued to rise, some manufacturers increased the ex-factory quotation, the price adjustment range was about 50-80 RMB/ ton. According to the monitoring data of SunSirs, as of December 15, the average price of methanol producers in Shandong was 2,210 RMB/ ton, with the price rising by 4.12% on a month on month basis and 4.25% on a year-on-year basis.
At present, the market price of methanol in Northwest China continues to rise, some enterprises can ship temporarily, and the freight is still firm. The price of receiving goods in the lower reaches of Shandong province keeps up with the increase, and the profits of traders are still remaining, mainly pursuing the rise. The market of formaldehyde and DME in the downstream rose, which was good new. The decline of acetic acid and MTBE slowed down, and the persistence was excessive, which had little impact on the methanol market in the short term.
On the external side, as of December 15, the closing price of CFR China methanol was $280.50-281.50/ ton, up $1/ ton; CFR Southeast Asia methanol closing price was $314.50-315.50/ ton. The U.S. Gulf methanol closed at 117.75-118.25 Cents/ Gallon; FOB Rotterdam methanol closed at 344.00-345.00 Euro / ton, up 2 Euro / ton.
From the perspective of the future market, on the positive side, some enterprises in Southwest China have shut down or reduced production load; some enterprises have stopped selling or restricted sales, and the supply side has been tightened; the trend of coal and natural gas is stronger, and the methanol cost side is better supported. On the negative side, under the influence of low temperature, some formaldehyde enterprises started to reduce their production, and the overall demand was general; Ningbo Fude 600,000 ton/ year DMTO plant had a maintenance plan in January, and the olefin demand declined in the later stage; the downstream still had a mentality of resistance to high prices, and the mentality of the middle and lower reaches was weak. SunSirs methanol analysts predict that the short-term domestic methanol market is mainly up in China.
