Welcome to this Methanol Market Puts-and-Takes podcast episode, part of the Chemical Conversations series.

In this episode, Senior Analyst Cassidy Staggers talks with Dave McCaskill, Argus VP of Methanol and Derivatives discuss:

• Impacts from the war in Iran
• Changing trade flows due to demand destruction
• How will global and regional prices respond

Argus offers methanol prices, news, analysis, forecasts, and consulting. Get more information and request a free trial.

Hear Argus’ essential analysis of the impact the Middle East conflict on urea and phosphates markets, focusing on production, logistical constraints, price surges across both daily and weekly price assessments, trade flow developments, the potential for permanent changes to supply and trade dynamics, key takeaways and what to watch out for next.

Join Mike Nash, Senior Editor – Fertilizers, Harry Minihan, Global Editor - Nitrogen and Tom Hampson, Global Editor – Phosphates as they discuss these topics in the latest episode of Argus' Fertilizer Matters podcast series.

Key questions answered in this podcast:

• Why is the Middle East so important for global urea and phosphates supply?
• Which urea and phosphates production facilities have been affected?
• How has this conflict constrained supply of urea and phosphates?
• How have the markets responded with regard to sentiment, and in particular prices?
• How have the markets reacted to the ceasefire?
• How have Argus daily urea and phosphates price assessments reacted - what are the key price points and how far have they risen?
• How long could it be before the markets start to settle into some sort of normality?
• Could this conflict lead to permanent changes to supply and trade flows?
• What are the key takeaways and what should we watch out for next?

In this episode, Argus explores why copper — long viewed as a stable macro barometer — has entered one of its most turbulent periods in years. From tariff‑driven arbitrage to supply disruptions in Africa and China’s increasingly strained smelter margins, our experts break down the forces shaping the market’s sharp swings and the risks looming over the remainder of 2026.

Covered in this episode:

• How tariff fears, financial inflows and mine outages pushed copper briefly above $14,000/t
• Why the Iran conflict introduces both macro headwinds and sulphur‑related supply risks
• How sulphur disruption affects SX‑EW production in the DRC and Zambia
• Why China’s smelters continue to operate despite record‑negative TCRCs
• The outlook for Chinese copper demand in 2026 amid weaker new‑energy sectors