The rising price trend in respect to Coking Coal continues to persist as there is no reversal of the strengthening of the demand.
Strong demand has continued to emanate from China, where steel producers constantly procured the coal to cater to their production needs. In a communication with a market participant, it was learnt that domestic purchases in China were also strong due to the purchasing affinity of the steel makers there.
It has also been learnt that import demand is strong in China and India, apparently due to the active steel making. Demand from other countries has softened as the steel makers lowered purchases as they had already stocked the material.
The latest offer for the Premium HCC is assessed higher by around USD 9/MT at around USD 203.50/MT FoB Australia over the week-ago offer; while that for the 64 Mid Vol HCC is assessed higher against that in the last week by around USD 2.5/MT at around USD 173.45/MT FoB Australia.
For Indian buyers, these offers amount to: USD 215.90/MT and USD 185.85/MT respectively on CFR India basis.
The tracks of the Blackwater rail system in Australia have resumed operations after sustaining damage last Friday. The rail lines, connect Queensland to the Gladstone port, transport around 40,000 MT of coal every day. The mines in the Queensland region dependent on the rail lines for dispatching coal are: Wesfarmers’ Curragh and Jellinbah, Glencore’s Rolleston, Rio Tinto’s Kestrel, Idemitsu’s Ensham and BHP’s Blackwater.
IMPORTS
Meanwhile, imports of the coal are robust in India as the steel plants are running at high rates, necessitating uninterrupted purchases of the coal. According to CoalMint Research, around 2.92 MnT of the coal was imported in India during the 1-21Aug’17 period, data compiled by CoalMint Research shows.
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