A deal for 75,000 mt of mid-volatile Goonyella premium hard coking coal (PHCC) has been signed at $189/mt FOB for October laycan, which is down slightly by $1/mt from the tradable level assessed by market sources since late last week. The previous deal for the same grade was done at $197.1/mt CFR. The new transaction signals that the market has settled at this new level since at the moment demand from India has failed to improve, and only some traders are ready to take positions for the future.
Also, a bid for the same Goonyella PHCC but for September laycan has been placed at GlobalCoal at $182/mt FOB this week. The buyers’ idea for low-volatile PHCC is even lower - at $177/mt FOB, voiced as a bid for 75,000 mt of Peak Downs or Saraji PHCC for September laycan.
The Australia PHCC reference price has been corrected down by $1/mt since last week to $189/mt FOB.
In the import market in China, the tradable level has remained at $185-190/mt CFR and overall interest in import coking coal is limited, while trading from ports has also been reduced with restrictions on transportation in northern China ahead of the parade on September 3. Even though supply of coking coal in the local market in China is expected to remain reduced or will go down even further in September, slow demand has been impacting prices. A few accidents at coal mines in Shanxi Province, North China, have happened this week and some miners have temporarily stopped operations for safety reasons. Supply at most of the mines is expected to resume after September 3.
