US April methanol rolls over on improved supplies, quiet spot

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US methanol contract prices for April remained steady from March on Thursday, as both Methanex and Southern Chemical Co (SCC) rolled over their contracts.

Methanex had posted 125 cents/gal, and SCC posted 123 cents/gal, bringing the April assessment to 124 cents/gal.

The rollover came as a slight surprise to the market, as there was speculation that contracts would be higher going forward.

However, improved domestic supplies and a quiet spot market pressured contract prices.

Crude oil prices have also fallen by about 16% since the beginning of March, when they were hovering around $50/bbl.

Crude oil hit its low for the month at about $43/bbl around mid-March. It has since made a dramatic recovery, nearly recouping all those losses.

Yet it was not enough for Methanex and SCC to raise prices.

A source said much of the market was expecting about a 5-cent/gal increase for the monthly contract, especially with the resurgence of methanol in China.

The methanol spot price in China has risen 22.7% since the end of February.

Sources said methanol supplies in China have declined on the return of demand from methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plants, of which several have come back on line in the country, as well as some plant outages overseas.

The spread between the US contract and spot prices remained at 19 cents/gal, as spot prices were also steady at 105 cents/gal.

The following lists US methanol prices.