Platts to discontinue industry-settled European methanol quarterly contract price

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, will discontinue the publication of the industry-settled European methanol quarterly contract price, effective July 29, 2026.

The discontinuation was first proposed in a subscriber note on May 6, 2026: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/pricing-benchmarks/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/050626-platts-proposes-to-discontinue-industry-settled-european-methanol-quarterly-contract-price

The published number reflects industry-settled gross prices for long-term contract deliveries during the current quarter, before discounts. Platts requires confirmation that at least two independent buyers and at least two independent sellers had agreed the same price before updating the price at the start of the settlement quarter. In cases of multiple price settlements, Platts publishes an average reflecting industry convention.

After careful review of market activity and stakeholder feedback, Platts determined that the aforementioned contract structure no longer reflects market practices. Additionally, market feedback suggested that the year-over-year increases in rebates have reduced the transparency that the publication of a gross contract price provides.

The following symbols will be discontinued:

Platts currently publishes a net monthly contract price that reflects net prices for long-term contract deliveries during the current month. The monthly contract price is published on the 1st of each month and reflects the average of Platts' daily month-ahead FOB Rotterdam spot assessments, published during the preceding month (MEFRA01, MEFRA02).

Platts will continue to publish the net contract price assessments for methanol databased under the following symbols:

These assessments appear on S&P Global Energy Core, Platts Market Center, and Platts Chemical Alert (PCA) fixed pages PCA346 and PCA1160.

Please send all feedback, comments and questions to petchems@spglobal.com with a copy to pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing.

Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.