Australian premium hard coking coal prices have been softening after having peaked in the middle of last week as market activity slowed down towards the end of the week, although hard coking coal prices have picked up by USD 4-5/MT this week.
Indian trading activity was muted last week due to the festive holidays.
Following the occurrence of an accident at a coal mine in China’s Shandong province, local authorities have halted production at 41 coal mines.
However, the production halt in Shandong coal mines may see limited impact on seaborne coking coal as they produce mainly semi-hard and semi-soft.
CNF China prices are expected to be supported in the near term as there could be restocking demand by Chinese end-users as winter approaches. Also, there had been no deals done for a while.
PRICE ASSESSMENTS
The latest price for the Premium HCC grade is assessed at around USD 218.50/MT FOB Australia, lower by about USD 0.70/MT than the average price of around USD 219.20/MT in the week gone by (15-19 Oct’18).
Latest import offers for the 64 Mid Vol HCC grade are assessed at around USD 188.20/MT FOB Australia, higher by about USD 4/MT than the average price of around USD 184.20/MT in the last week.
Source: CoalMint Research
For Indian buyers, the above offers amount to USD 234.85/MT and USD 204.55/MT respectively on CNF India basis.
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