China Methanol Demand Keeps Decent in Sep
Entering September, China’s methanol market showed a V-shape movement on the whole. Up to September 21, the methanol price in Inner Mongolia closed at RMB 2,155/mt, down RMB 80/mt or 3.58% from September 1. Although the prices fell from highs, the overall downstream demand kept largely stable, supporting the market to some extent.
With the successive restart of some methanol units, China’s methanol industrial operating rate kept rising. Up to September 21, the operating rate had climbed to 73.50%, a high record within the year. The rally in supply exerted sales pressure on methanol producers who brought forward their pre-holiday sales and cut offers actively, considering the relatively long holiday this year.
In September, inland methanol market prices fell from highs. Sources said that the relatively suitable long-term contract prices encouraged traders, and most of them planned to take delivery of goods maximumly. Thus, the overall sales at methanol producers were smooth, supporting their inventory to stay at a low level. Up to September 15, the inventory at sample methanol producers was 526.6kt, seeing a small increment of 33.4kt compared with that on August 4.
In September, methanol purchasing varied in different downstream industries, but the overall demand was decent. In terms of traditional downstream products, according to sources, the weak export of plywood influenced the formaldehyde plants’ feedstock purchasing interest to some extent. As for MTBE plants, they were not very sensitive to feedstock prices because of favorable industrial profit, but the feedstock purchases were still mainly on rigid demand due to their limited feedstock storage capacity. As for the CTO/MTO industry, with the successive restart of some coastal olefin units, the industrial operating rate had risen to 86.66% up to September 21, increasing the demand for methanol accordingly.
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