A deal for 75,000 mt of mid-volatile Goonyella premium hard coking coal (PHCC) has been done at $250.1/mt FOB for late February-early March laycan, which is significantly higher than the previous deal at $226.5/mt FOB and the reference price of $235/mt FOB late last week.
Bids have been rising constantly since mid-January as supply has been extremely low due to weather conditions, continuing rainfall and force majeures at a number of miners. A few other bids from traders have been heard at $245-247/mt FOB lately.
However, a further strong rise in price is questionable after such a sharp hike, market sources believe.
Indian buyers have been eager to buy, supporting the recent price uptrend, but demand from China has been limited, while the tradable level for PHCC in China has remained stable at $210-215/mt CFR.