Amendment to load port of metallurgical coal spot HCC, PCI price assessments: pricing notice

Fastmarkets will amend the load port named for its Hard Coking Coal (HCC) and Pulverized Coal Injection (PCI) spot price, fob Australia, to FOB eastern Australian ports, from the current basis of Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, Australia on Monday March 24.

The adjustment, which follows a consultation which ended on Tuesday March 18, will enable Fastmarkets to track a broader range of data by incorporating major ports, including Hay Point Coal Terminal, Abbot Point Coal Terminal, Gladstone Port and Port Kembla, alongside the current Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal.

To ensure consistency of the assessments, normalization of ports might be practiced where necessary, based on market surveys.

The specifications for the price are as follows (changes in italics):

MB-COA-0004 Hard coking coal, fob eastern Australian ports, $/wmt
Quality: CSR base 62%, min 57%; volatile matter base 21.5%, range 18.5-27%; ash base 8%, max 11%; sulfur base 0.50%, max 1%; TM base 10.5%; CSN base 7, min 6; fluidity min 10 dial divisions per minute (ddpm); phosphorus base 0.06%, range 0.04-0.08%; mean max reflectance base 1.25%, range 1.00-1.50%. Physical size <50mm
Quantity: Min 10,000 tonnes
Timing: Seaborne, laycan 16-60 days
Location: FOB eastern Australian ports
Unit: USD/wet metric tonne
Payment terms: Letters of Credit on sight
Publication: Daily at 6.30pm Singapore time
Notes: All origins

MB-COA-0008 PCI low-vol, fob eastern Australian ports, $/wmt 
Quality: VM (ad) base 13%; ash (ad) base 9%; sulfur (ad) base 0.5%; phosphorus (ad) base 0.1%; TM (ar)base 10% 
Quantity: Min 10,000 tonnes 
Location: FOB eastern Australian ports
Timing: Seaborne, laycan 16-60 days 
Unit: USD/wet metric tonne 
Payment Terms: Letters of Credit on sight 
Publication: Friday at 6.30pm Singapore time 
Notes: Origin Australia

These two price assessments are part of the Fastmarkets steel raw materials prices package.

To provide feedback on the price assessments amendment, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Paul Lim, Jessie Li and Bella Cheng by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading FAO: Jessie Li, re: FOB Australia HCC and PCI.

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.

What to read next
Fastmarkets has launched three weekly wheat freight rate assessments — Ukraine-Egypt, CVB-Egypt and Russia-Saudi Arabia — and has clarified that its existing Black Sea-North Africa freight assessment refers to the Russia-Egypt route and its Black Sea-Persian Gulf assessment refers to the Russia-Iran route. The Russia-Egypt assessment will also transition from Supramax to Handy-sized vessels. All changes are effective Wednesday May 20, 2026.
Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer, with consumption surpassing 20 million tonnes per year and a persistent structural import gap of approximately 10-13 million tpy despite initiatives to boost domestic production. Egypt also serves as a principal market for Black Sea suppliers, including Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. Until 2025, there was an established […]
South Korea has stepped up its efforts to support its steel sector, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and tariff pressures elsewhere, by including the sector in a $54 billion support package for key industries in the country, Fastmarkets understands.
Fastmarkets changed the timestamp for its daily used cooking oil flexi-tank, fob China and used cooking oil, bulk, fob China price assessments from 4:30pm London time to 4:30pm Singapore time effective Wednesday May 20, 2026, as a result of an open consultation.
The proposal follows Fastmarkets’ observations that the commodity sees inactive spot liquidity and low volatility in prices. The proposed new specifications for the prices are as follows, with the amendments in italics: MB-NI-0246 Nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea, $/tonneQuality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% […]
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest for Tuesday May 19 was published earlier than scheduled due to an error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.