Prices for spot coking coal dipped further on Thursday on the back of competitive price offers in China by Australian miners.
Currently, Premium Low vol coking coal is at $144/MT (FOB Australia) down by $1.50/MT from previous price and grade of HCC Mid Vol is at $128.50/MT (FOB) lower by $2/MT. And Premium HCC is available at $148.75/MT (FOB).
No new transactions were reported, but bids and offers for the highest quality Australian coals fell and were around $150-160/MT (CFR China).
A trader said, “Every day a deal is done lower for Premium HCC grade and that is the reason for decline in the prices of HCC Mid-Vol grade.” Bids from India remained negligible.
BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi recently signed a contract for Oct-Dec quarter at $170/MT FOB. This alliance could surface some stability in the spot market. However, currently most of the traders based in India and China do not expect a price revival any time soon as offers continue to decline owing to poor demand.
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