Corrected: US July methanol spot prices dip as supply remains ample

09 July 2010 19:40  [Source: ICIS news]

Correction: In the ICIS news story headlined "US July methanol spot prices dip as supply remains ample" dated 9 July 2010, please read in the second paragraph …($297-304/tonne, €235-240/tonne)… instead of …(1,962-2,007/tonne, €1,550-1,586/tonne)…. A corrected story follows.

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US methanol July spot barge prices dipped on Friday as the supply picture remained ample, helped by talk that the new Metor II plant in Venezuela was in start-up mode, according to market sources.

The spot range was assessed at 89-91 cents/gal ($297-304/tonne, €235-240/tonne), down from the 90-92 cent/gal range that prevailed earlier in the week.

A market source cited word that the 850,000 tonne/year Metor II plant in Jose, Venezuela, was undergoing operational tinkering and testing.

The Metor II plant was expected to be commercially operational in the next couple of months, raising Metor's total methanol production to 1.6m tonnes/year.

A seller said the Metor progress combined with indications that the 1.9m tonne/year M5000 plant in Trinidad remained on schedule to restart this weekend suggested that the methanol market had become more relaxed about supply issues.

"The market needs to adjust a little bit and that's good news," the seller said.

There had been talk earlier in the week that the July spot range had dropped even further on the low end, but there were no confirmed trades to support those price ideas.

Spot prices have fallen around 20% since a May surge - caused by an extended outage at the 1.7m tonne/year Atlas plant in Trinidad.

But since the Atlas restart in June, prices have stabilised at around 90s cents/gal - still about 20 cents/gal above the level seen before the Atlas plant went down.

($1 = €0.79)

For more on methanol visit ICIS chemical intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Lane Kelley
+1 713 525 2653

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly