Report Summary 1) Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided in the content 2) Core View of the Report - The methanol market was affected by macro - expectations. The night session of commodities rose due to the expected "package of financial policies to support market stability and expectations" and the rebound of oil prices, giving methanol some upward momentum. However, from a fundamental perspective, there are still few bullish factors for methanol in May as Iranian imports are expected to continue to increase. The strategy recommendation is short - term observation (View Score: 0) [1] 3) Summary by Related Catalogs a) Price and Basis - **Methanol Futures Prices**: MA01 in Taicang decreased from 2316.00 yuan/ton on April 30, 2025, to 2288.00 yuan/ton on May 6, 2025, a decrease of 1.21%. MA05 decreased by 0.48% and MA09 decreased by 1.42% [1] - **Methanol Spot Prices**: Spot prices in Shandong, Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia decreased, with Inner Mongolia having the largest decline of 2.09%. Prices in Sichuan - Chongqing and Hubei remained unchanged [1] - **Basis**: The basis of Taicang spot - MA increased by 5.50 yuan/ton [1] b) Raw Material Prices - **Coal Spot Prices**: The prices of Ordos Q5500, Datong Q5500, and Yulin Q6000 decreased, with Datong Q5500 and Yulin Q6000 both down 1.42 - 1.43% [1] - **Industrial Natural Gas Prices**: Prices in Hohhot and Chongqing remained unchanged [1] c) Profit Situation - **Methanol Production Profit**: Coal - based methanol profit decreased by 13.90%, while natural - gas - based methanol profit remained unchanged [1] - **MTO Profit**: Northwest MTO profit increased by 47.08%, and East China MTO profit increased by 6.15% [1] - **Methanol Downstream Profits**: Profits of acetic acid, MTBE, and formaldehyde changed. MTBE had a significant decline of 177.35%, while formaldehyde increased by 15.36% [1] d) Important Information - **Domestic Futures Prices**: Methanol's main contract MA2509 weakened, opening at 2243 yuan/ton, closing at 2219 yuan/ton, down 48 yuan/ton, with trading volume of 511,233 lots and open interest of 693,078, showing increased volume and open interest [1] - **Foreign Information**: A 1.8 - million - ton methanol plant in the US restarted on May 1, and a 1.7 - million - ton methanol plant in Southeast Asia is under maintenance [1]

Investment Rating - Industry Rating: Outperform the Market (Maintain Rating) [1] Core Viewpoints - The macroeconomic expectations are fluctuating, leading to a rebound in the prices of non-ferrous metals, with copper and aluminum continuing to deplete inventories [4][11] - Gold prices have reached historical highs due to increased safe-haven demand, although recent political developments have caused volatility [5][19] - The market sentiment for tin has improved due to easing trade tensions between the US and China, with prices showing a strong upward trend [39] Summary by Sections 1. Base Metals & Precious Metals - Copper: Prices have continued to rise, with the Shanghai copper closing at 77,480 CNY/ton, supported by inventory depletion and stable demand [4][11] - Aluminum: Prices have increased, with the Shanghai aluminum closing at 19,970 CNY/ton, driven by improved market confidence and reduced inventories [15][18] - Precious Metals: As of April 24, the average price of gold was 801.08 CNY/gram, up 4.12% from the previous week, while silver averaged 8,198 CNY/kg, up 1.43% [5][19] 2. Minor Metals - Tin: The price closed at 31,500 USD/ton, up 540 USD/ton (1.74%) from the previous week, with improved macro sentiment and easing supply concerns [39] - Lithium: Prices remain under pressure due to weak demand, with industrial-grade lithium averaging 570,000 CNY/ton [31] - Cobalt: Prices for cobalt concentrate remain stable, while electrolytic cobalt prices have seen slight adjustments [34][35] 3. Rare Earths - Prices for light rare earths have decreased, with neodymium-praseodymium oxide down 2.5% to 406,000 CNY/ton, but long-term demand remains strong [6] 4. Tungsten - Prices for tungsten have increased due to tightening supply, with black tungsten concentrate averaging 147,000 CNY/ton [45][46] 5. Molybdenum - The molybdenum market has shown signs of recovery, with prices for molybdenum concentrate rising to 3,355 CNY/ton [53][54]