Methanol Prices | Current and Forecast
Monitor Methanol Prices Worldwide
Plans Starting at $299 USD /year
Monitor monthly Methanol price assessments covering 7 locations: United States, Europe, Central America, Southeast Asia, China, Northeast Asia and Middle East. Also check Methanol 10-year price history and forecasts.
The chart below is a sample of Intratec Primary Commodity Prices. Subscribe and access now current prices of 225 commodities, including Methanol.
Data Legend. The chart above shows Methanol price assessments in USA Dollar per metric ton (USD/mt) in 7 locations, as follows:
- Methanol, US (United States): Methanol, export contract price, fob, United States
- Methanol, EUR (Europe): Methanol, export contract price, fob, Netherlands
- Methanol, CAM (Central America): Methanol, export spot price, fob, Trinidad and Tobago (netback from cif United States)
- Methanol, SEA (Southeast Asia): Methanol, import transaction price, cif, India
- Methanol, cont, CN (China): Methanol, import contract price, cfr, China
- Methanol, spot, CN (China): Methanol, import spot price, cfr, East China
- Methanol, NEA (Northeast Asia): Methanol, import contract price, cfr, Northeast Asia
- Methanol, MDE (Middle East): Methanol, export spot price, fob, Saudi Arabia (netback from cfr China)
Data Use. Methanol prices are provided as an annual subscription where subscribers have access to reliable pricing data of 225 commodities worldwide. Intratec's methodology employs a structured big data strategy that utilizes advanced technologies to extract publicly available data from primary sources such as governmental trade records, statistics bureaus, and international agencies. This data is then processed through mathematical models to generate reliable assessments, published at the very beginning of each month. To better understand the data provided check Intratec Primary Commodity Prices Methodology .
Data Delivery Methods. Methanol price assessments are available via different delivery methods: (i) online charts; (ii) directly into Excel (using Intratec Add-in); (iii) in Power BI dashboards or (iv) a web API (to facilitate integration with existing workflows).
Intratec Primary Commodity Prices
Track global current prices of 225 commodities including Methanol
Current Monthly Prices
Price History & Forecasts
Prices in Multiple Countries / World Regions
Prices Directly In Excel
Plans Starting at $299 USD /year
Methanol Price Outlook. The price of Methanol (contract, United States) was flat during March 2020. On a year-over-year basis, the prices of Methanol (contract, United States) decreased significantly by 8%. Meanwhile, the average price of Methanol (spot, United States) amounted to 272 USD per metric ton, from 330 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the price of Methanol (spot, United States) is 2% higher than the price one month before.
The price of Methanol (contract, China) declined slightly throughout March 2020, reaching 243 USD per metric ton. The price is 2% lower than the average price in the previous month and 18% lower than the average price one year before. In contrast, the prices of Methanol (spot, China) decreased significantly during March 2020, reaching 199 USD per metric ton, which means a decline of 12% from the previous month’s price and a decline of 33% from the previous year’s price.
The prices of Methanol (transaction, Southeast Asia) experienced a significant decline of 30 USD per metric ton from the prior month's price, to 217 USD per metric ton. Such price movement meant a decrease of 12% on a monthly basis and a decrease of 29% on a yearly basis. On the other hand, in March 2020, the price of Methanol (spot, Middle East) witnessed a decline of 39 USD per metric ton when compared against the previous month's price, to 131 USD per metric ton. The March 2020 price is 46% lower than the price one year before.
The average price of Methanol (contract, Europe) was 300 USD per metric ton on March 2020 – a little increase of 5 USD per metric ton, or 2%, compared with the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, the price of Methanol (contract, Europe) is 25% lower 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.
Methanol Handling. 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.
Methanol Production. 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)
Methanol Uses. 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.
