Methanol Price | Current and Forecast
Monitor Methanol Prices Worldwide
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See monthly Methanol prices in 5 locations: United States, South America, Europe, South Asia & Oceania, China, Middle East. Also check Methanol price history since 2007 and forecasts. The chart below is a sample of Intratec Primary Commodity Prices - subscribe now and gain access to current prices of 237 commodities, including Methanol.
Data Legend. The Methanol price chart shows the prices in USA Dollar per metric ton (USD/mt) in 6 locations, as follows:
- US: Methanol, United States, spot, fob, US Gulf
- SAM: Methanol, South America, transaction, cif, Brazil
- EUR: Methanol, Europe, contract, fob, Netherlands
- SEA: Methanol, South Asia & Oceania, transaction, cif, India
- CN: Methanol, China, spot, cfr, Central China
- MDE: Methanol, Middle East, transaction, fob, Saudi Arabia
Data Use. Methanol prices are provided as an annual subscription where subscribers have access to reliable pricing data of 237 commodities worldwide. To better understand data provided by Intratec Primary Commodity Prices, check the following documents: Price Assessment Basis , Commodities Specifications , Methodology , User Guide , and Glossary .
Intratec Primary Commodity Prices
Track global current prices of 237 commodities including Methanol
Current Monthly Prices
Price History & Forecasts
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Plans Starting at $299 USD /year
Price Dynamics. The Methanol price in United States increased during November 2018 to 414 USD per metric ton, which represents a considerable rise of 11% compared to the previous month’s value. On a year-over-year basis, Methanol prices in United States increased significantly by 35%. Meanwhile, in Netherlands, the average price of Methanol amounted to 487 USD per metric ton, from 372 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the Methanol price in Netherlands is 1% lower than the price one month before.
The price of Methanol in China declined considerably throughout November 2018, reaching 344 USD per metric ton. The price in China is 26% lower than the average price in the previous month and 27% lower than the average price one year before. In contrast, Methanol prices in India decreased significantly during November 2018, reaching 355 USD per metric ton, which means a decline of 17% from the previous month’s price and a decline of 2% from the previous year’s price.
The Methanol prices in Saudi Arabia experienced a modest decline of 10 USD per metric ton from the prior month's price, to 413 USD per metric ton. Such price movement in Saudi Arabia meant a decrease of 2% on a monthly basis and a rise of 17% on a yearly basis. On the other hand, in November 2018, the Methanol price in Brazil witnessed a rise of 20 USD per metric ton when compared against the previous month's price, to 419 USD per metric ton. The November 2018 price in Brazil is 37% higher than the price one year before.
About Methanol. Methanol (a.k.a. Methyl Alcohol, Wood Alcohol) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol as well as one of the most important chemical raw materials. It is colorless liquid at ambient temperatures with a mild, characteristic alcohol odor. Methanol was originally called wood alcohol because it was first obtained from the destructive distillation of wood. The modern method of preparing methanol is based on the direct combination of carbon monoxide gas and hydrogen (syngas) in the presence of a catalyst. Methyl Alcohol is quantitatively the second largest product from syngas, after ammonia. Methanol production is often the most suitable alternative for marketing of liquefied methane and ammonia.
The syngas used to produce methanol can be produced from virtually any carbon source. While methane and coal are common raw materials, the use of renewable feedstocks such as residue biomass from crops and forests processing is increasing. Besides the technology of its production being simple, the transportation and storage of methanol use inexpensive technology.
Since methanol is both a fire hazard and corrosive toward a variety of metals (copper, zinc, magnesium, tin, lead, aluminum) and some elastomers, equipment for storing may be made of carbon or stainless steel. Floating and fixed roof tanks are used for large-scale methanol storage. Methanol is shipped overseas in specially built tankers with capacities up to 40,000 t. Other vessels with capacities up to 3,000 t can be used to distribute the product to inland industrial regions via inland waterways, by tank cars, trucks and drums. Methanol is also transported by road and rail tank cars. Permanently coupled trains consisting of several large tank cars with common filling, discharge, and ventilation lines are used to supply large customers.
Currently, Methanol is produced on an industrial scale primarily by catalytic conversion of synthesis gas (or syngas). The syngas is, in turn, most commonly produced from the natural gas reformation or by gasification of coal. The gasification process can also be used for the production of Green Methanol from biomass. Raw materials and the respective production processes employed in the manufacturing of Methanol are listed below.
- Natural gas (reforming),
- Coal/wood (gasification),
- Naphtha/vacuum residue/heavy fuel oil (partial oxidation)
The uses and applications of Methanol may vary according to its specification. The main forms of Methanol are grade A (minimum 99.85 wt% methanol, maximum 0.15 wt% water) and grade AA (minimum 99.85 wt% methanol, maximum 0.10 wt% water, maximum 0.001 wt% ethanol, maximum 0.002 wt% acetone).
Despite Methanol’s minor use as fuel, MTBE is used in the energy sector as a gasoline additive to raise the octane number. In recent years, technologies were developed for the production of chemicals and fuels from syngas, with methanol being an intermediate. Such technologies include methanol to gasoline (MTG), methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and methanol-to-propylene (MTP) processes.
