Seaborne metallurgical coal spot prices have continued to decline over the past few weeks, following the emergence of lower offers across markets, despite several trades booked and sell tenders concluded recently in China.
Currently, the Chinese traders are buying at FOB price levels of around US$ 200/MT, because seaborne materials are cheaper compared to domestic coals of similar specifications.
Meanwhile in Australia, the cyclone season is almost over, and the normalized supply of coking coal available in China is expected to soften prices further.
In China, a typical demand pick-up post-Lunar New Year has not materialized yet this year, as China appeared to be in wait-and-see mode, which has kept spot prices relatively stabilized so far this year, in contrast to last year’s sharp uptick.
Hence, coking coal supply levels remain sufficient to outweigh the limited demand appetite, which has exerted a lot of pressure on May and June forward-loading cargoes.
PRICE ASSESSMENTS
Latest offers for the Premium HCC grade are assessed at around USD 199/MT FOB Australia, lower by about USD 8.70/MT than the average rate of USD 207.70/MT in the week gone by (25-29 Mar’19).
Offers for the 64 Mid Vol HCC grade are assessed at around USD 174.40/MT FOB Australia.
For Indian buyers, the above offers amount to USD 210.80/MT and USD 186.20/MT respectively on CNF India basis.
Source: CoalMint Research
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