Ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices have inched up in the new contract signed in the middle of this week. In particular, 30,000 mt of mid-volatile Goonyella PHCC were sold at $180/mt FOB for August laycan, up by $1.5/mt from the reference price earlier this week. Market sources said this volume will be shipped as a top-up and in general the price signals the stabilization of the market.
Offers for 45,000 mt and 80,000 mt of low-volatile Oaky North PHCC were at $177/mt FOB and $178/mt FOB, for July and August laycan, respectively. Low-volatile material is still priced more cheaply due to slow demand from China and the Far East, while rather stable sales in India keep mid-volatile PHCC prices at near $180/mt FOB.
Though today, on July 10, the Chinese steel and raw materials markets have posted a significant increase and some local mills have announced local price hikes, the tradable level for import coking coal has remained low, at around $160/mt CFR, versus $150-155/mt CFR seen for the past two weeks. Rumors about restrictions on coking coal exports from Mongolia have persisted, supporting the market mood, but no official announcements have been released yet.
