Prices for Australian premium hard coking coal (PHCC) have increased further, which has been reflected in a new deal and offers as supply has been tight, while demand from India is still seen, with mills are preparing for post-monsoon season.
A deal for 35,000 mt of Riverside mid-volatile PHCC has been signed to an Indian steelmaker at $270/mt FOB for September 11-20 laycan, up from the previous deal done at $262.37/mt FOB last Friday. A few offers for mid-volatile PHCC have been reported at $267-270/mt FOB and the tradable level has been assessed by a number of market sources at $265-270/mt FOB. “$270/mt FOB is slightly questionable, but I think it is the upper end of the range we see in the market,” a Singapore-based source said. There is still demand for 70,000-80,000 mt of mid-volatile PHCC from Australia in India, according to sources, so prices may remain supported in the near future.
The gap between ex-Australia mid-volatile and low-volatile PHCC has increased over the past week and on Monday the tradable level for low-volatile was assessed at below $265/mt FOB. “I think the market is in a tight balance for PMV, but it is more relaxed for PLV,” a trading source said. However, due to the delays in shipments and some recent changes, on Tuesday market sources have been reporting prices for low-volatile PHCC at the same level as mid-volatile.
Import demand from China has remained limited with the tradable levels at $245-250/mt CFR for low-volatile PHCC. “Local coking coal prices are on a downtrend, with not much interest in expensive imports,” a source from China said.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Australia PHCC has settled at $267.5/mt FOB, up by $5.5/mt from last Friday.