Prices for ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) have moved up this week, supported by positive sentiments and resumed interest in import coking coal from China. A deal for 75,000 mt of mid-volatile Goonyella PHCC was done at $193.5/mt FOB for December laycan, which is up from a deal at $190/mt FOB for a similar grade late last week. Though this material is destined for India, the main supportive push was coming from China this week, according to market sources.
In particular, early this week bids for low-volatile PHCC were seen at $187-189/mt FOB, which translates to around $196-197/mt on CFR basis. But by the end of the week, market sources had heard about a few deals done at $200/mt CFR, up by $5-10/mt from the tradable level seen a week ago. “The coke market is strong and local coking coal supply in China is in deficit with the new checks, while the cheap Mongolian supply is disrupted,” an Asian source commented regarding the recent rebound seen in China.
In India, the latest tradable level is still at $200-202/mt CFR for November shipment, but, with better demand from China and the easing of supply globally, market sources await a further increase in bids for December shipment.
