While many global customers worldwide have refused to cooperate with Russian coking coal suppliers in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chinese buyers have continued to develop firm relationships with Russian suppliers. In particular, offers at much lower levels than from North America have continued to contribute to their successful cooperation.
In particular, this week two cargoes of ex-Russia K10 coking coal for 20,000-25,000 mt each have been traded to China at $322/mt CFR and $327/mt CFR, respectively. The port of discharge is said to be in the north of China. “The offer I got was higher but because it is from a middle man and is on CFR Yangtze River basis,” a Chinese trader stated. It is said that Mechel has invited bids for its next two cargoes within the scope of tenders, with prices expected to be even lower than mentioned above.
Meanwhile, offers for ex-US premium hard coking coal to China have exceeded $500/mt CFR, with some market players reporting offers at $530/mt CFR, $30/mt higher than at the start of April.