Seaborne coking coal market subdued ahead of Christmas break

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Index prices edged lower amid thin trade and bearish bids.

Steel First’s premium hard coking coal index for material sold on a cfr Jingtang basis edged down to $148.71 per tonne on December 24, down $0.22 per tonne from Monday.

Premium hard coking coal prices on an fob DBCT Australia basis were calculated at $134.80 per tonne, down $0.73 from Monday,

The price for hard coking coal cfr Jingtang stood at $136.16 per tonne on Thursday, up $0.05 per tonne from Monday’s levels.

Hard coking coal fob DBCT was $122.66 per tonne, down $1.35 from levels seen on Monday.

“Most people are out of town, nothing is happening in the market,” a trading source told Steel First.

“Most buyers are also well covered for January-loading cargoes. I think we’ll have to wait for another two weeks before we see some activity,” he added.

Market participants speaking to Steel First still pegged top Australian brands at or below $150 per tonne cfr China. Ample supply and weak demand continued to be cited as factors muting buying interest.

The most-traded May coking coal contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at 1,049 yuan ($171) per tonne on Tuesday, up from Monday’s close of 1,044 yuan ($170) per tonne.

The most-traded May coke contract on the same exchange closed at 1,523 yuan ($249) per tonne, up 7 yuan ($1) from the previous close.