Chinese steelmakers have continued to favour ex-Russia coking coal due to its attractive prices compared to those North American suppliers are seeking to get. Moreover, the longer delivery times involved mean that Chinese customers are less inclined to do deals with North American sellers.
Specifically, late last week a cargo of Russian Mechel's K10 coking coal was traded at $239.22/mt CFR China, up $1.22/mt compared to the previous tender closed in the first half of September. Furthermore, a cargo of low-volatility pulverised coal injection (PCI) was booked at $220/mt CFR China, compared to $199.1/mt CFR China in early September.
Meanwhile, ex-US Blue Creek No.7 premium hard coking coal has been offered at $330/mt CFR China, while another US-based supplier has been seeking to get $300/mt CFR China in its offering of low-volatility coking coal.
In the meantime, as of Tuesday, September 20, coking coal futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) have settled at RMB 2,015/mt ($289.6/mt), moving sideways compared to last Friday, while coke futures prices have increased by 2.3 percent to RMB 2,681.5/mt ($385.4/mt), up by 2.3 percent compared to September 16.
$1 = RMB 6.9573