MTBE Market Analysis: Global Trade Shifts

US MTBE: High prices weigh on market activity / No activity heard for the third consecutive day / Asian MTBE cargoes bound for Latin America

Jun 06, 2026

US Gulf Coast spot MTBE was rangebound day over day Oct. 24, as Asian MTBE exports were heard bound for Latin America. US Gulf Coast spot MTBE at 241.96 cents/ gal FOB USG Oct. 24, down 0.48 cent day over day. The MTBE differential rose to plus 55.10 cents/gal as it rolled from NYMEX November RBOB to the December RBOB contract. The US spot MTBE market has been characterized as quiet recently, with market fundamentals remaining stable. “MTBE is too expensive still,” a sell-side source said in response to MTBE’s recent inactivity. In Asia, China’s newly-signed MTBE export orders reached 160,000 mt in the week starting Oct. 20, compared to 87,000 mt the week from Oct. 13, with exports bound for the Straits, Latin America and South Korea heard over...

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