Chinese ethanol binge ends as New Year’s party wears off

In China, ethanol import demand has fallen off since the New Year holiday that saw a buying binge with as much as 130,000 cubic meters contracted for January and February shipping. But since then the arbitrage window has closed as the yuan weakened and domestic prices fell more than 10% in the past month, with $580 per metric ton now considered expensive when cargos sold at similar prices just a few weeks ago. Even inquiries for industrial-grade imports from Pakistan have fallen off.