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Fastmarkets indices
Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $102.62 per tonne, down $0.46 per tonne
Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $168.78 per tonne, unchanged
Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $92.97 per tonne, up $2.17 per tonne
Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $154.11 per tonne, unchanged
A 75,000-tonne cargo of premium low-volatility hard coking coal with December 20-29 laycan was traded at $102 per tonne fob Australia on Friday December 4, with an option to replace it with another brand of premium low-vol hard coking coal at the same price.
Also on Friday, a 162,000-tonne cargo of premium low-vol hard coking coal with January 20-29 laycan was traded at $102 per tonne fob Australia, with an option to replace it with another brand of premium low-vol hard coking coal at the same price, sources told Fastmarkets.
“The current price level for premium hard coking coal is acceptable for Indian steel mills, who have been making good margins. They will procure more spot cargoes,” a coke producer source from India said.
A trader source from India increased his estimate for hard coking coal by $4 to $94 per tonne fob Australia on Friday, and also increased his estimate for low-vol pulverized coal injection (PCI) by $2 to $72 per tonne fob Australia.
“There is a relative shortage of hard coking coal and low-vol PCI in the spot market, so their prices edged up,” he said.
There is an oversupply of premium hard coking coal material, especially of premium low-vol hard coking coal in the fob market, because the largest buyer in the spot market – China – halted imports of Australian coal since early October, the source added.
“Therefore, premium hard coking coal prices will be rangebound and won’t change drastically in the short term,” he predicted.
No transactions were heard in the cfr market on Friday.
“There isn’t much seaborne premium hard coking coal material now that we can’t import from Australia,” an end user from China said.
A coke producer source from northern China said that the eighth round of coke price increases, which saw offers rise by 50 yuan ($8) per tonne, had been accepted by steel mills nationwide on Friday.
Dalian Commodity Exchange
The most-traded January coking coal futures contract closed at 1,520 yuan ($231.90) per tonne on Friday, down by 1.50 yuan per tonne.
The most-traded January coke contract closed at 2,564 yuan per tonne, up by 31 yuan per tonne.