US July methanol rolls over at $1.05-$1.07/gal on supply calm

02 July 2010 20:09  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US methanol contract for July was assessed on Friday at a rollover from the previous month's $1.05-$1.07/gal, in line with market expectations based on improving supply and seasonal demand.

The supply picture was propped up by the restart of the 1.7m tonne/year Atlas plant in Trinidad last month, which allowed spot prices to cool down from the spike in May triggered by the Atlas outage, market sources said.

That offset a modest seasonal increase in demand to leave the market outlook flat, as reflected in the spot price indications for forward months.

Canada's Methanex and Houston-based Southern Chemical, the two major suppliers to the US market, had left their July nominations unchanged from June at $1.05/gal and $1.07/gal, respectively.

The July contract range is around 15 cents gal above current spot market prices, consistent with the gap seen from October 2009 through March 2010.

For more on the Methanex Atlas plant, visit ICIS plants and projects
For more on methanol visit ICIS chemical intelligence
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By: Stephen Burns
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