This week has ended with a further drop in ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices, which have lost $32/mt in total since last Friday. It seems that for now the bottom has been reached, as at this level some demand may come from India. However, buying from China will remain limited also due to upcoming May Day holidays, which will put further pressure on prices for some time.
A deal for 75,000 mt of ex-Australia mid-volatile Branded ND premium hard coking coal from Australia has been done at $225/mt FOB for May laycan, down by $18/mt from the offer for the same material reported on Wednesday, April 26.
“Prices may go down a little more, but we are close to the bottom. Even though China will go on holiday, the Indians will come back. This is a temporary bottom I think,” a Singapore-based trader said.
In China, bids for ex-Australia low-volatile premium hard coking coal have been at $230-235/mt CFR, translating to around $220/mt FOB. Chinese mills in the northern and central parts of the country have been implementing maintenance works to deal with poor margins, and this has further dragged done demand for raw material, coking coal in particular.
May coking coal futures at Singapore Exchange have slipped by $1.42/mt from the previous day to $236.25/mt.