At last, Coking Coal prices have risen enough to force buyers to reduce purchases as they were almost unable to pay the prevailing coal prices hovering at substantially high rates in Australia. However, the retardation in the buying momentum did not put the sellers in Australia to lower their export prices, they had, in fact, raised their prices further, albeit marginally, as they saw enough room for the demand to stay strong.
According to the inputs received, most steel makers in China has stopped booking Coking Coal imports in view of the substantial price levels; in the same lines, many steel producers in India also was heard to have halted their Coking Coal imports on account of the prevailing price levels. But, Australian sellers saw the robust demand to remain intact due to the steel plants operating at high rates both in India and China; and thus they were least bothered of the bearish sentiments of the buyers.
The offers of the Premium HCC have gone up by around USD 2.5/MT to around USD 211/MT FoB Australia in comparison with that in the week last. However, the offers for the 64 Mid Vol HCC has remained almost at around USD 178.75/MT FoB relative to the week-ago offers.
For Indian buyers, these offers translate into: USD 223.90/MT and USD 191.65/MT respectively on CFR India basis.
In India, demand for the coal will remain strong in the future as steel production is on a rising path, and with the absence of adequate domestic supply, imports of the coal will remain at highs.
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