Europe Q2 methanol contract gains broad support at €250/tonne

22 March 2010 16:57  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--The majority of European methanol players will follow the initial second quarter contract price (CP) of €250/tonne ($338/tonne), company sources said on Monday.

The new CP, which represents an increase of €15/tonne over the first quarter, was initially agreed on Friday between Helm AG and a European buyer.

Other key participants indicated at the time that they were theoretically happy with the figure, but were unable to officially confirm before final consultation with as broad a customer base as possible.

Some suppliers had earlier argued for a greater increase based on the numerous production problems seen in recent weeks and the significant disparity in prices between Europe and the rest of the world.

However, a muted response in the spot market to the production problems and poorly performing US and Chinese markets tempered the aggression of suppliers’ targets, sources said.

In the end, sources were generally happy that the moderate increase was appropriate for the stable-to-firm forecast for the second quarter.

Further justification came from the poorly performing euro versus the dollar, sources added.

“I think it’s a price both sides can live with....Q2 is forecast to be stable-to-slightly up, which justifies a slight increase. Plus there is the exchange rate,” a supplier said.

The first quarter CP was settled at €235/tonne FOB (free on board) Rotterdam.

On Monday, bids and offers for March material were at €212-217/tonne, while April was lower at €210-215/tonne. A deal for April was reported on Monday at €215/tonne in the morning.

($1 = €0.74)

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By: Ross Yeo
+44 208 652 3214

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