News and Articles

• DME benchmark hit RMB 4,566.67/MT in late May 2026, a one-year high representing a 16.2% year-on-year increase.
• Elevated methanol feedstock costs are the primary driver of DME price appreciation into June 2026.
• Asia-Pacific holds 84% of global DME demand; LPG blending accounts for 61% of total end-use.
• Over 2 million MT of renewable bio-DME capacity targeted globally by end-2026, but near-term supply remains tight.
• Long-term offtake agreements are recommended to hedge against continued spot price volatility in H2 2026.

Dimethyl ether prices reached their highest point in twelve months by the close of May 2026, with the industry benchmark settling at RMB 4,566.67 per metric ton on May 25 a figure representing a 0.74% gain over the beginning-of-month level and a 16.2% increase compared to the equivalent date in 2024, when the benchmark stood at RMB 3,930 per ton. This upward movement carried through into the first days of June, reinforcing a sustained bullish trajectory that has been in place since the start of the year.

The primary catalyst behind the price rise is the sustained elevation of upstream methanol costs. Methanol serves as the primary feedstock for synthetic DME production, and any tightening in methanol supply or pricing directly translates to higher DME production costs across the chain. In Q1 2026, methanol prices in China remained firm on the back of constrained domestic supply and healthy export demand, supporting DME prices well above the levels seen in late 2025. By the start of Q2, this dynamic had not materially reversed.

Clean energy policy has been an equally significant factor on the demand side. Asia-Pacific accounts for approximately 84% of global DME consumption in 2026, driven primarily by its application in LPG blending — which commands around 61% of total DME end-use globally. Governments across China, South Korea, Japan, and several Southeast Asian markets have maintained or expanded incentives for clean cooking fuel programs, many of which incorporate DME as either a blend component or a direct substitute for liquefied petroleum gas.

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On the supply side, capacity investments announced through 2024 and 2025 have begun to reach commissioning stages, but the volume of new capacity coming online has so far failed to offset demand growth. Global plans for over 2 million metric tons of renewable DME production capacity by the end of 2026 represent a structural transformation in the market, but lead times between investment decision and commercial output mean near-term supply remains tight. In September 2025, Biofriends Inc. and Cheongmyeong Co. signed an MOU to build South Korea's first commercial-scale biogas-to-biomethanol plant, with a portion of output earmarked for bio-DME.

For procurement managers at LPG distributors, aerosol manufacturers, and clean fuel logistics companies, the June 2026 environment calls for careful attention to both spot and forward pricing. The bullish trajectory has not meaningfully reversed, and any further methanol price increases or policy-driven demand acceleration could push benchmarks higher through Q3. Long-term offtake agreements with domestic producers remain the most reliable hedge against continued spot price volatility.