In the China methanol market, supply is tight in the wake of a decrease in availability imported from Iran. Further, bad weather affected discharge of methanol in Ningbo in East China, which delayed the departure of vessels. In this situation, volumes for March delivery are estimated to be smaller than February.

On the demand side, while some methanol to olefins (MTO) facilities in Nanjing plan to undergo maintenance in March onwards, other MTO facilities are scheduled to resume operations. With the spring demand season approaching, demand for derivatives is gradually improving. In addition, inventories of domestic methanol have been digested and selling interest by domestic makers is retreating. Under such circumstances, the market remains firm.