Coking coal prices in China have dropped sharply in the past week as suppliers have been trying to sell more cargoes, while sentiments in China have worsened after the US threatened additional tariffs on imports of Chinese goods.
A Panamax cargo of premium hard coking coal from Australia was sold at $161/mt FOB late last week, with workable price levels moving down to $158-160/mt FOB from above $170/mt FOB last week, SteelOrbis has been informed.
The unexpected price drop attracted some Chinese customers. Deals for more than 500,000 mt of hard coking coal were closed last week at $183-167/mt CFR, mostly for September shipment. The last deal was closed at $167/mt CFR for mid-volatile brands.
As a result, premium hard coking coal prices have lost about $17-18/mt over the past week coming to $173-174/mt CFR, while hard coking coal quotes have slipped by almost the same amount to $167/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has been informed.
Apart from ample supply, there are uncertainties about demand in the near future. Checks of imported coking coal have already been started at some ports as the Chinese government will try to ease imports in the second half of the year due to the surge seen in the first half. Coking coal imports in China went up by 22 percent or 6.9 million mt to 36.3 million mt in the January-June period this year.