Australian coking coal prices have remained range-bound this week, with buyers staying back from making purchases as they awaited the result of a buy tender issued by an Indian steelmaker on 7 Jun’21.
- Premium low-volatile (PLV) hard coking coal (HCC) and 64 Mid Vol HCC grades are assessed at around $167.50/tonne (t) (+2.8% week-on-week) and $147.00/t (+3.5% w-o-w) FOB Hay Point, Australia.
- For Indian buyers, these prices amount to $192.10/t (+2.1% w-o-w) and $171.60/t (+2.7% w-o-w) respectively on CNF India basis.
- Australia-India dry bulk freight rate is currently assessed at $24.60/t (-2.2% w-o-w) for delivery by Panamax vessel class.
A 75,000-tonne cargo of premium mid-volatility hard coking coal was traded at $170.50/t FOB Australia on 8 Jun’21, with a laycan of 11-20 Jul’21.
Overall sentiments remained bullish on healthy demand and concerns over potential supply tightness in the third quarter (Q3), with tradable levels for various premium coking coal brands, such as Peak Downs, Saraji and Goonyella, placed at elevated levels.
India’s coking coal imports rise 31% y-o-y in May’21
India’s coking coal imports rose substantially in May’21 by 31.1% y-o-y to around 4.74 mn t, CoalMint’s latest vessel line-up data reveals.
Indian spot buyers, however, have become more cautious as Covid-19 infections have surged wildly last month, while vaccine rollouts have proved slower than anticipated.
Moreover, Indian buyers are not in a hurry to procure cargoes, as Australian coking coal prices are moving up fast and major steel mills are already stocked up for Jun-Jul’21.
Stock positions at major ports in India
Total coking coal stocks at major Indian ports at the end of last week had increased to 6 mn t, up by 2.61% w-o-w against 5.85 mn t in the previous week.
Presently, coking coal stocks at Paradip port are at 1.76 mn t, down by 3.84% w-o-w; while inventory at Dhamra port is at 1.49 mn t, up 13.92% w-o-w.
Major Indian ports include Gangavaram, Paradip, Mundra, Vizag, Dhamra, Krishnapatnam, Kandla, Haldia, Navlakhi, Magdalla, Hazira, Karaikal, Tuticorin, Dahej, Goa, Jamnagar, Mangalore, Bhavnagar, Kakinada, Muldwaraka and Pipavav.
Outlook
Market participants anticipate Australian PLV coking coal prices to rise further as supply of prompt-loading cargoes for July-delivery remain tight.
Buyers, however, have largely retreated to the sidelines following the issuance of the buy tender seeking Australian PLV HCC and PCI coal.
At this juncture, the short-term price trend remains unclear until the tender concludes, expectedly in mid-Jun’21.
PLV coking coal prices have apparently stabilised in the range of $167-$171/t, FOB Australia, for now.
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