While the number of deals concluded in China has apparently dwindled down almost to nothing with the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, trading activity for ex-Australia coking coal has also slowed down noticeably. Global customers are reported to have taken a pause to evaluate workable levels. “Only a June offer has appeared, nothing much besides. The second day it is quiet,” a Singapore-based trader commented with regard to the current market developments. Specifically, a June-laycan 75,000 mt cargo of premium low-volatility hard coking coal (HCCLV) has been offered at $415/mt FOB, but with no taker so far due to the long lead time.
Meanwhile, in the futures market in China prices have remained highly volatile. Specifically, on January 25 the price for hard coking coal in the most-traded contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) surged by RMB 45/mt ($7/mt) percent compared to January 24 to RMB 2,211/mt ($349/mt). Meanwhile, coke futures prices rose to RMB 2,962.5/mt ($468/mt), up 2.7 percent within the same period of time.
$1 = RMB 6.32935