After a long pause, a new deal for 40,000 mt of ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) was signed in the middle of this week, indicating a further slight rise amid persisting delays in shipments due to big queues at ports.
A contract for mid-volatile Goonyella PHCC for June laycan was signed at $195.6/mt FOB between the miner and international trader for the Indian market, up from the previous contract for a similar grade concluded at $192.2/mt FOB in late April. Another deal for 35,000 mt was also heard to have been done on index basis. Some offers earlier this week were at $195-200/mt FOB and the current level has been assessed as the real market price.
However, a further rise in prices is questionable as market sources indicate only “some moderate demand in India”, and given the availability of other origins like Canadian and US coking coal at around $200-205/mt CFR India.
Also, though Chinese futures have increased this week, the tradable level for PHCC is still not above $170/mt CFR, making the resumption of imports from Australia questionable. Chinese mills have kept their focus on local supplies and the Russian PCI price stands at around $113-115/mt CFR.