Report Title - Port continues to accumulate inventory, methanol runs weakly [1] Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided Core Viewpoints - The start - up rate of coal mines has declined slightly. As of July 18, the start - up rate of coal mines in Ordos is 69%, and that in Yulin is 46%. Some coal mines have stopped production. The daily coal output in Ordos and Yulin is around 3.7 million tons, with weak demand and weak pit - mouth prices [4]. - On the supply side, the start - up rate of coal mines in the main coal - producing areas in the northwest has declined, but demand is weak. The raw coal price fluctuates, and the auction price of mainstream methanol enterprises in the northwest is firm. The profit of coal - to - methanol is around 700 yuan/ton, and the methanol start - up rate remains stable at a high level, with continuous ample domestic supply [4]. - On the import side, the start - up rate of international methanol plants has continued to rise, the US dollar price has slightly decreased, and imports are slightly inverted. Except for the fpc plant in Iran, all other plants are operating normally. The start - up rate outside Iran has slightly increased, and the external start - up has rebounded to a new high this year. The prices in the European and American markets have slightly declined, the price difference between China and Europe has shrunk at a low level, and the Southeast Asian re - export window has closed. Iran has loaded 370,000 tons in July. Iran has carried out price - cut tenders, and some Indian supplies have flowed to China. US dollar merchants have sold at high prices, leading to an increase in arrivals in Taicang and accelerated inventory accumulation [4]. - On the demand side, traditional downstream industries have entered the off - season, and the start - up rate has declined. The start - up rate of MTO plants has increased, but some MTO plants are operating at less than full capacity. The inventory at ports has increased due to more arrivals, and the basis is firm; the inventory of inland enterprises has fluctuated slightly [4]. - Overall, the start - up rate of international plants has slightly increased, most plants in Iran have restarted, and the daily output has climbed to around 38,000 tons. Imports are gradually recovering, with an estimated import volume of 1.25 million tons in July. With the increase in arrivals, the port inventory has slightly increased. At the same time, due to the continued decline in domestic coal prices, the coal - to - methanol profit has expanded to the highest level in history, and the start - up rate of coal - to - methanol is stable, resulting in ample domestic supply. It is expected that methanol will mainly fluctuate weakly in the short term, but the recent strong rise of domestic bulk commodities provides some support [4]. - Trading strategies: For single - side trading, expect weak fluctuations; for arbitrage, adopt a wait - and - see approach; for over - the - counter trading, sell call options [4] Summary by Related Catalogs Chapter 1: Comprehensive Analysis and Trading Strategies - The core view is a comprehensive analysis of the supply, demand, inventory, and price trends of methanol in terms of raw coal, domestic supply, imports, downstream demand, etc., and gives corresponding trading strategies [4] Chapter 2: Weekly Data Tracking 2. Core Data Weekly Changes - Supply - Domestic: As of July 17, the overall start - up load of domestic methanol plants is 71.09%, a decrease of 1.41 percentage points from last week and an increase of 5.99 percentage points from the same period last year. The start - up load in the northwest region is 75.59%, a decrease of 2.70 percentage points from last week and an increase of 6.48 percentage points from the same period last year. The average start - up load of non - integrated methanol plants is 66.45%, a decrease of 0.28 percentage points from last week [5]. - Supply - International: In the period from July 12 to July 18, 2025, the output of international methanol (excluding China) is 1,056,853 tons, an increase of 19,250 tons from last week, and the plant capacity utilization rate is 72.45%, an increase of 1.32% from last week. The Apadana plant in Iran has restarted, and the overall operation of other plants in Iran is 70% - 80% [5]. - Supply - Import: As of 14:00 on July 16, 2025, the sample arrival volume of Chinese methanol in the period is 430,400 tons, including 373,400 tons by foreign vessels and 57,000 tons supplemented by domestic vessels [5]. - Demand - MTO: As of July 17, 2025, the weekly average capacity utilization rate of MTO plants in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions is 80.23%, an increase of 4.28 percentage points from last week. The national olefin plant start - up rate is 86.23%, and the overall start - up of the industry has slightly increased this week [5]. - Demand - Traditional: The capacity utilization rate of dimethyl ether is 5.19%, remaining the same as last week. The capacity utilization rate of acetic acid is 93.91%, slightly decreasing this week. The formaldehyde start - up rate is 45.24%, decreasing from last week [5]. - Demand - Direct Sales: The weekly signing volume of methanol sample production enterprises in the northwest region is 63,000 tons, an increase of 26,000 tons from the previous statistical date, a month - on - month increase of 70.27% [5]. - Inventory - Enterprise: The inventory of production enterprises is 356,900 tons, an increase of 4,600 tons from the previous period. The order backlog of sample enterprises is 221,200 tons, a decrease of 20,000 tons from the previous period, a month - on - month decrease of 8.29% [5]. - Inventory - Port: As of July 16, 2025, the total port inventory is 790,200 tons, an increase of 71,300 tons from the previous period. The inventory in East China has increased by 63,500 tons, and that in South China has increased by 7,800 tons [5]. - Valuation: In terms of profit, the coal - to - methanol profit in Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi is around 735 yuan/ton. The price difference between the port and the northern line is 430 yuan/ton, and the price difference between the port and northern Shandong is 170 yuan/ton. The MTO loss has narrowed, and the basis has weakened [5] 2. Spot Price - The spot price in Taicang is 2360 yuan/ton (down 80 yuan/ton), and the price in the northern line is 1970 yuan/ton (down 30 yuan/ton) [8]
港口继续累库,甲醇弱势运行
Yin He Qi Huo·2025-07-21 03:28