After the contracts made in 2009 March, it seems that coking coal prices in the international markets are maintaining their strengthening movement with purchase activity from Russia and India.
As it may be remembered, contract price levels for 2009 were at $110-120/mt FOB. After that, with purchase activities of the buyers in China, India and Russia markets, coking coal prices had increased to around $130/mt FOB.
Currently, related to the supply tightness in producer markets, it is mentioned that the coking coal prices in general are at $150-180/mt FOB in the spot markets in general depending on quality and origin. While it is heard that there are not many export offers in US due to the intense demand in the local US market, supply is reportedly too limited in Australia and Canada.
It is mention that the main reason behind demand for this raw material is the positive signs of economical development in the abovementioned markets and uptrend in steel producing activities in the same countries. According to the expectations of some international investment companies, coking coal price uptrend will likely continue in 2010 and it is possible to reach to the level of $200/mt FOB.