Supply Remains Bounteous in Interior Regions But Keep Tight in Coastal Regions

Operating rate of domestic methanol plants in interior regions hovered high, especially when coal price have fallen and methanol margin based on coal have improved. However, it led to a backlog of inventory and suppliers showed strong selling intention amid oversupply in the market in interior regions.

China methanol imports from non-Iranian countries have dropped compared to last year, which alleviated the high import pressure. Iranian cargoes may also get affected by recent conflict in the Middle East according to the source from local plant in Iran. Methanol supply is relatively balanced on overall basis, and the market is in the lack of advancing momentum.