- Chinese coast inventory up 8.3% over week, near-term
outlook bearish- South Korean truckers strike causes fundamentals to be balanced



Asian methanol prices ended the week lower
due to weak downstream demand from China, abundant supply in Southeast Asia and
limited trading in South Korea. China's
near-term outlook was mixed. In the days
ahead, the planned shutdown of Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical's methanol-to
olefins facility, Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical, led to bearishness on the
Chinese methanol market. Domestic prices in east China were Yuan 140/mt lower
week-on-week at Yuan 2,620-2650/mt ex-tank Dec. 2. There were mixed views on the supply. According to Longzhong Information Services, the east China
coast inventory was 586,400mt Nov. 30, an 8.3% increase over the previous week. According to market sources, large quantities of methanol
from Europe and the Caribbean were heading to China...