Prices for ex-Australia premium hard coking coal (PHCC) have increased again amid the expected demand revival in India. A deal for 75,000 mt of mid-volatile PHCC from Australia was done at $246/mt FOB for September shipment yesterday, August 2. This is up by $4/mt from the previous deal for low-volatile material reported earlier this week. A few market sources said that the cargo sold at $246/mt FOB was purchased by a trading firm for the Indian market, “where steel prices have already started to rise, so by the end of this month coal bookings will also be more active [by end users,]” a trading source said. August shipment PHCC from Australia has been offered to India at $250-255/mt CFR this week, which translates to around $236-240/mt FOB.
An offer for mid-volatile PHCC has been reported at $250/mt FOB on Thursday, up by $4/mt from the offer seen on GlobalCoal yesterday.
The Chinese market, though still relatively active, has shown some signs of weakening with steel and raw material prices retreating due to the floods in Hebei and the slowdown in demand. “This [parcel sold at $246/mt FOB] may go to China, but they [mills] prefer low-vol and are bidding at $255/mt FOB max,” a source said. The freight to China is around $12/mt.