The FoB spot price for Australian premium low-volatile (PLV) hard coking coal (HCC) surged by $10.5/t this week to a near three-month high with a sell tender concluded at a higher level.
Firm bids were reported for this tender from $103/t to above $110/t FoB Australia, according to market sources.
Earlier however, FoB prices for Australian coking coal have continued to maintain their same levels in past six weeks, because of a demand slowdown since before the year-end break as supply continued to outweigh demand.
Australian PLV HCC FoB price held steady remained stable at $102/t due to a lack of spot trades in the Asian spot market outside China as end-users showed little urgency to book cargoes, leaving spot prices unchanged.
Alongside limited spot demand from end-users in Europe, North Asia and India, Chinese traders continue looking for reselling opportunities, aggravating oversupply concerns of premium coking coal.
Presently there are no fundamental changes in the Indian market for seaborne coking coal, with relatively moderate demand. Moreover, Indian steel markets have been performing reasonably well and some Indian buyers are keen to conclude spot deals.
India Coking Coal Import Shipment Vessel Lineup
CoalMint’s latest vessel lineup data reveals that a total quantity of 2,540,232t of Australian coking coal was expected to reach various Indian ports by 25th Dec’20.
824,850t Dhamra (Odisha)
88,000t Ennore (Tamil Nadu)
80,950t Gangavaram (Visakhapatnam)
176,400t Haldia (West Bengal)
75,940t Jaigarh (Maharashtra)
305,593t Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
154,000t Mormugao (Goa)
286,263t Paradip (Odisha)
45,000t Vizag (Andhra Pradesh)
Price Assessments
Latest prices for the Premium HCC and the 64 Mid Vol HCC grades are assessed at around $112.50/t and $97.50/t FOB Hay Point, Australia.
For Indian buyers, these prices amount to $127.55/t and $112.55/t respectively on CNF India basis.
Australia-India dry bulk freight rate is currently assessed at $15.05/t for delivery by Panamax vessel class.
Outlook—
India-delivered premium hard coking coal price for Australian-originated material is anticipated to remain relatively weaker (than US coking coals) because Indian buying interest for seaborne coking coal is presently limited despite ample material availability at competitive price levels.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall in Australia’s coking coal hub of Queensland could affect mining operations or railway transport, while the recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in China’s Hebei province might affect steel production.
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By Aditya Sinha
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