Prices for ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) have increased lately as the market has been discussing the latest tender by a miner and the strong opposition of the sellers to lower bids.
Though the results of the tender held by the major Australian miner for PMV (premium mid-volatile) coking coal have not been finalized by Thursday, market sources agree that the highest bid would not be less than $245/mt FOB. Last week, a deal was done at $235/mt FOB for June laycan. “Bids for July cargoes are stronger, but sellers don’t want to sell cheap for June either,” a source said. “The FOB market is weak as many cargoes are unsold. The expected FOB price is $245-250/mt for June,” another source said.
Offers for PMV coking coal from Australia to India have been reported at $260-265/mt CFR, and, if there is a firm bid, the lower end of the range can be achieved in a deal, according to market sources. But “there is a lack of firm bids for now,” a trader said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Australia PHCC has increased by $7/mt to $245/mt FOB.
Also, India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) will review recommended quantitative restrictions on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke from 11 countries, as announced on May 9. End-users in India and the major cookeries have filed feedback and in the coming two weeks the authorities will reconsider the previously proposed quotas. The quota for met coke to be imported to India has been proposed at not more than 2.85 million mt, which is over one million mt less than real imports in the past year. Moreover, some mills state that the country-wise limitations are “not reasonable” with a 157,292 mt annual quota for China and 132,729 mt for Indonesia.
The Chinese and Indonesian coke prices have been under strong pressure recently, with at least one deal for ex-Indonesia CSR 65 coke done at $305/mt FOB and the price for ex-China material is not above $300-305/mt FOB.
