January 26th Update — Methanol Auction Results of Yankuang Group: Yankuang Guohong's methanol bidding concluded at a final price of 2,120 RMB/ton ex-factory cash payment. The 640,000 tons/year coal-to-methanol plant is operating with three furnaces. Yulin Yankuang's methanol auction started at 1,800 RMB/ton ex-factory cash payment for a volume of 4,000 tons, with final transactions ranging from 1,810 to 1,820 RMB/ton, all sold. The company’s Phase I 600,000 tons/year methanol plant and Phase II 800,000 tons/year coal-to-methanol plant are running normally. Chempricehub Analysis on Methanol — Bull-Bear Score: -1.5 The article reports that Yankuang Group’s methanol auction prices were 2,120 RMB/ton and 1,810–1,820 RMB/ton, significantly lower than the current methanol futures main contract price (e.g., MA2605 contract closing at 2,298 RMB/ton). This indicates ample supply in the spot market (plants operating normally with stable capacity) and weak demand, exerting downward pressure on methanol spot prices. Meanwhile, the spot discount phenomenon may transmit to the futures market, leading to downward pressure on futures prices, particularly affecting near-term contracts. Combined with futures data (e.g., reduced open interest and high trading volume in the MA2605 contract), bearish sentiment in the market has strengthened, warranting a score of -1.5 (moderately strong bearish), as the price gap is notable but not an extreme event.