Ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) prices have continued to go up this week, amid sustained demand and higher offers from suppliers. Also, the Chinese market has been somewhat better in terms of sentiments, though buying has not improved much yet and bids from most mills have been lagging behind.
A deal for 45,000 mt of ex-Australia mid-volatile premium hard coking coal Moranbah North was done at $246/mt FOB yesterday for June 1-10 laycan, up by $1/mt from the sale of a similar quality on Monday and up $8/mt from the average level seen late last week. Moreover, now offers are all at $247-250/mt FOB or above. Though there has been moderate demand, a number of bids have been coming at lower levels for mid-volatile material, at $229-235/mt FOB.
The Chinese buyers have been looking for low-volatile PHCC prices at around $250-255/mt CFR, up from the previous $245/mt CFR. But this level translates to around $240/mt FOB only.
At the Singapore Exchange, coking coal futures have risen by $4.66/mt from yesterday, May 9, coming to $249.33/mt.
The SteelOrbis daily reference price for ex-Australia PHCC has increased by $8/mt to $246/mt FOB.