MARKET TREND
Coking coal prices were undergoing a constant freefall—due to weak demand and ample supply—since its Jan’18 peak of USD 265/MT FoB Australia.
Recently however, the trend is being reversed, with the strong global steel prices. The Australian hard coking coal market appears to be poised for further strength owing to the prospects of end-user demand growth in the Chinese construction sector.
In addition, Australian railroad Aurizon’s notification to the Queensland Resource Council (QRC) that it would cut train movements on its Goonyella Line may uplift met coal prices from potential supply falls.
Reportedly, Aurizon’s decision to cutback coal shipments from Australia’s metallurgical coal hub of Queensland may impact as much as 14 million metric tons per year of met coal supply.
PRICING TREND
At around USD 184.75/MT FoB Australia, the latest offers for the Premium Low-Vol HCC have remained almost stable compared with the week-ago assessment; while offers for the 64 Mid-Vol HCC have increased marginally by about USD 1.45/MT to around USD 171.20/MT FoB Australia.
On CFR India basis, these offers translate into USD 199.35/MT and USD 185.80/MT respectively.
Source: CoalMint Research
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