Methanol futures trading launched
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Shanghai Daily, October 29, 2011
China's first methanol futures contracts started trading yesterday, providing producers, traders and users of the petrochemical with a financial tool to hedge against price fluctuations.
The most active March contract settled at 3,139 yuan (US$494) per ton, up 2.9 percent from a base price of 3,050 yuan per ton, on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in central China's Henan Province. The contract rose to as high as 3,220 yuan at one stage.
The performance was in line with the broad rise in the global commodities markets following a deal by European leaders to help contain the region's debt crisis. But the methanol futures gave up some of the gains because of weak demand, analysts said.
"Though trading was active in the early session, it became a bit slack in the afternoon," said Zhang Ming of Dalian Fortune Futures Co.
Methanol, or methyl alcohol, is used to make many chemicals, and from there into products as diverse as plastics, paints and explosives.
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