Prices for ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) have continued to move up strongly this week and, though deals have been limited over the past week, the tradable level, based on the latest bids, has broken through the $330/mt FOB mark. Tight allocation of premium mid-volatile material from Australia and persisting demand from India are behind the hike.
Two bids on the globalCOAL platform for 75,000 mt and 80,000 mt of mid-volatile PHCC were at $330/mt FOB for mid-November laycan and $335/mt FOB for late November laycan on September 21. In addition, today bids have been reported at similar levels versus “sellers’ indications at $345/mt FOB,” a source said. Recently. There has been a lack of firm offers for ex-Australia PHCC, especially mid-volatile, popular in India, due to some disruptions at several coal mines and delays in shipments from Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal with a long vessel queue.
“The real market is at $330-335/mt FOB. I think this is a fair number. But if it's above $350/mt FOB, it's still a little questionable,” a source from Singapore said.
Offers for ex-US Blue Creek 4 coal, which is lower quality compared to Blue Creek 7 usually compared with Australian premium material, have been at $290/mt CFR India.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Australia premium hard coking coal has increased by $12.5/mt on average today to $332.5/mt FOB, while early this week a deal was reported at $320/mt FOB.
In China, the tradable level for PHCC has increased slightly, by $5-10/mt over the past week to $270/mt CFR, after hikes in local coking coal and coke prices. However, it has not been enough to trigger any activity in the import segment. Offers for ex-Russia PCI have also increased, to $175-180/mt CFR China, from $160-165/mt CFR last week. One deal was done at slightly below $160/mt CFR early this week, but for prompt shipment.