Anthracite coal global offers have remained more or less flat since the past few weeks but are soon expected to go up because of rising international spot prices of alternative coal types used as steelmaking raw materials – coking coal, metallurgical coke, breeze coke et al.
Resurging steel production in China coupled with India’s steel consumption growth have led to an avaricious demand for steelmaking feedstock, which can be used interchangeably.
As a matter of fact, high grade (HG) and ultra high grade (UHG) anthracite is employed in steelmaking as a cost-efficient substitute for coke in processes such as sintering and pelletizing, as well as pulverised coal injection (PCI) and direct injection into blast furnaces.
Furthermore, ocean freight rates have risen sharply over the recent past, and are quite likely to maintain current levels or increase further with global crude oil prices shooting up—the price of oil has just hit its highest level since Nov’14, reaching USD 80 per barrel.
Consequently, cost and freight (CNF) prices for all seaborne commodities will increase at a higher rate than the free on board (FOB) prices.
The latest offers for anthracite coal hover around USD 136/MT FoB, which amounts to around USD 149/MT CFR India; unchanged from the week-ago assessment.
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