Buyers of ex-Australia coking coal have remained quite cautious in bookings due to the mixed sentiments towards future developments. With prices in the downstream segments having remained unsatisfactory, customers prefer to secure material for their immediate needs. Moreover, sufficient stocks of material booked earlier leave a certain time for buyers to wait and see. Amid scarce buying activity the suppliers have no other choice but to be accommodated to buyers' bids, wherever some demand exists.
On July 20, an Australia-based coking coal supplier was said to have traded a 40,000 mt of Peak Downs coking coal, for August laycan at $230/mt FOB. That is a $6/mt decline compared to offers which were voiced earlier, but enticed no demand. Concurrently, another cargo for 30,000 mt of RVC/CVC brand changed hands at $225/mt FOB, which almost correspond to the levels in the previous transactions for premium mid-volatile hard coking coal (HCCA).
Although generally market players remain bearish with regard to the future price trend, some admit that Australian coking coal might appeal to more global customers soon, due to the majority of challenges which begin to appear while cooperating with Russian companies. Moreover, according to a few sources, lately Russian companies are said to have become less aggressive in their offerings, which gives apparent support to first-tier global suppliers. “We are seeing the Russians starting to hesitate to sell at the current levels due to high sea freight and rail costs,” an Indian market source stated. “We are seeing people walking out on negotiations from the Russian side now,” another source said. Moreover, some support is expected to come if China ends its unofficial ban on importing Australian coal, an issue which has been quite actively discussed lately.