甲醇（MA）：卸货顺畅后累库，地缘风险持续加剧

1. Report Industry Investment Rating - The investment rating for methanol is "oscillating with a slight upward bias" [2] 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - Short - term methanol investment will be mainly oscillating, supported by reduced imports and the expectation of tight supply - demand balance. High port inventory but increasing de - stocking expectations, stable coal prices providing cost support, and geopolitical sentiment enhancing market resilience. The core price range is expected to be 2200 - 2300 yuan/ton [2] 3. Summary by Related Catalogs Supply - This week, methanol supply contracted overall, affected by both import and domestic production adjustments. Import volume decreased significantly, and although domestic capacity utilization increased slightly, total output declined due to new maintenance and production cuts in some plants. Next period, supply is expected to recover as more plants plan to resume production and there will be fewer maintenance and production cuts. Different production processes have different operating rates, with coal - based methanol operation relatively stable and natural - gas - based processes fluctuating slightly [2] Demand - This week, methanol demand remained weak in the off - season, showing significant structural differentiation. Total consumption decreased slightly week - on - week, lacking an upward driver. The main downstream methanol - to - olefins (MTO) industry was mediocre, with regional differences in operating rates. Traditional downstream industries generally had weak demand, with most industries' loads declining. In the short term, the demand side will remain weak and needs the resumption of downstream plants, the release of terminal demand, or favorable policies [2] Inventory - This week, methanol inventory increased at a high level, and the pressure to reduce inventory has not been alleviated. Inland enterprise inventory has been increasing for four weeks, and port inventory also rose. Although the unloading of foreign vessels was smooth, the提货 volume in some warehouses decreased. Overall, the current inventory is at a high level, and the supply - demand contradiction has eased but not fundamentally improved [2] Methanol Profit - This week, the profits of methanol and its downstream industrial chain showed obvious differentiation. Methanol - end profits improved slightly, while most downstream industries were still under pressure. The losses of coal - based and natural - gas - based methanol production processes narrowed, and only the profit of coke - oven - gas - based production decreased slightly but remained profitable. Most downstream industries saw increased losses, and only a few products like glacial acetic acid and MTBE had improved profits [2] Politics - This week, the political situation in Iran was tense both domestically and internationally. Domestically, there were sporadic demonstrations due to rising prices and currency depreciation, and the situation was gradually stabilizing. Internationally, the US and Israel were accused of interfering in Iran's internal affairs, and Iran's military, president, and permanent representative to the UN strongly responded [2] Trading Strategy - For unilateral trading, the strategy is "oscillating with a slight upward bias"; for arbitrage, it is to "wait and see". Key factors to watch include downstream demand, olefin procurement, spring maintenance, and geopolitics [2]