Prices for ex-Australia premiun hard coking coal (PHCC) have lost $10/mt from last week, coming to $250/mt FOB. Suppliers have failed to achieve the previous deal price level at $260/mt FOB as supply concerns after the fire at Anglo American have eased. Moreover, weakening steel prices in India and China have also had an impact.
Bids from trading companies and Indian mills have been heard at $230/mt FOB at the lowest and $245/mt FOB at the highest. The lowest offers in the market have been in India’s import market for mid-volatile material and prompt shipment at $250/mt FOB, but for August shipment suppliers are trying to keep offers at $255/mt FOB or so.
Anglo American, which suspended operations at its Grosvenor mine after the fire on June 29, announced force majeure on Moranbah North shipments on July 4. But the company mentioned delays or possible cancellations of supplies mainly in the fourth quarter, easing concerns for shipments during the August-September period. “Supply is more than enough. I am expecting hardly more than 1-1.5 million mt losses [in H2],” one trader said.
The Grosvenor mine accounts for almost 30 percent of the total coking coal production of Anglo American in the January-June period this year (2.3 million mt). However, for the second half of the year, the expected production at Grosvenor mine stands at 1.2 million mt due to a planned longwall move.
The tradable level for PHCC in China has remained low at $245-250/mt CFR maximum, and no firm bids have been reported for now. Chinese buyers are still focusing on local or ex-Russia purchases. A deal for ex-Russia PCI was done at $151/mt CFR China.
