Asia methanol spot prices had risen by nearly $75/tonne since mid-August, reaching $392-398/tonne on October 19, 2026, according to an assessment cited by China Chemical Industry News.
Port inventories in Ningbo and Singapore have drawn down for four consecutive weeks, reversing the loose stock position seen from June to early July and tightening spot liquidity.
The arbitrage window has pulled cargoes away from the US and Europe. US Gulf methanol prices rose $62/tonne in six weeks to $410-416/tonne barges on October 19, while Rotterdam traded at EUR 368-374/tonne.
A 1.4 million tonne/year methanol plant on the Texas coast suffered an unplanned outage, and several regional units extended planned maintenance.
Analysts expect Asian methanol prices could rise a further $30-50/tonne before year-end under a scenario of slightly lower Middle East exports, though restarts of East Asian plants in November and new Southeast Asian capacity in Q1 2027 could ease the tightness.
Insights / Market
MarketAsian supply tightness drives global methanol rally as Gulf risks loom
Methanol prices have climbed steadily since mid-August as tightening Asian supply pulls Atlantic Basin cargoes eastward, with Gulf shipping risk the key wildcard.
