Global Methanol Market Plunges With Gloomy Demand Outlook

Hamburg, Germany- Methanol prices in the global market have plunged in the past few weeks due to high product stocks and the declining upstream Natural gas market. The Methanol spot market remains affected by limited demand from the downstream venture and declining trading volume.

European Methanol prices dropped due to low purchasing activities and weak participation from the downstream ventures. The production run rates were at operational levels amid weak spot purchasing activities. The market remains oversupplied, with participants having no difficulty sourcing the product. With the week ending on 07th April, the price of Methanol in Germany slipped to USD 484/ton FD Hamburg with a weekly decline of 2.02%.

Suppliers showed limited engagement in the spot market, as most focused on contractual volumes without additional stocks. The lack of trading activity in the market and widespread uncertainty from participants affected the price trend. Despite weak demand across the value chain, product availability remained strong.

In the USA, the price of Methanol declines to USD 550/ton Ex-Louisiana with a weekly decline of 0.90%. An adequate supply of Methanol kept prices bearish, and producers declined their offers to protect margins. Premium offers of Methanol cargoes were traded at negotiable rates to South Korea and other Asian buyers to clear the existing stocks.

Methanol demand was quite weak, so there was limited capacity to accept the product from overseas suppliers. The downstream MTBE and Formic Acid market was also weak, with shrinking spot trading activities. However, the freight cost from the USA to South Korea for a 40ft container surged in March with an elevation of 7% when compared with Feb 2023.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Methanol in the global market will remain sluggish with lackluster demand and piling of inventories among the ports. The lack of fresh offers for Methanol had kept the trading fundamentals weak. Exports of Methanol from the significant producers in the US and Europe to the global market will trade lower due to abundant inventories and limited demand for fresh purchases.