Methanol price rises on short supply
Demand pickup in U.S. and China boosts spot price
Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 11/4/2009 2:03:12 PM
Spot-market prices for methanol have gained steam, driven by short supply in the Gulf of Mexico region and increased winter demand. ICISpricing.com and other analysts say spot prices have climbed on tight supply to 96¢/gallon in early November from an average 80¢ in October.
The recent methanol price increase-which could bring spot to $1 by month's end- is due to better demand in traditional and energy derivative markets in North America and Europe, says ICISpricing. Adding to the supply squeeze has been the normal winter demand coming from the windshield washer sector combined with oil and gas operations. And there has been a relatively high level of Chinese import demand, which is tied to dimethyl ether (DME) and gasoline blending.
Other chemical market insiders say the pricing run up may have been supply driven, most
notably because of an unexpected two-week outage at the 861,000 metric ton/year Titan plant in Trinidad, sporadic production issues at both methanol plants in Venezuela and reduced operating rates at plants in the Middle East.
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