Seaborne coking coal prices down on weak demand

The seaborne coking coal market was again quiet on Tuesday November 26 with few fresh offers heard and December cargoes being sold out.

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Steel First’s daily index for premium hard coking coal cfr Jingtang was calculated at $149.94 per tonne, down $1.35 per tonne from levels seen on Monday.

Premium hard coking coal fob DBCT Australia was calculated at $141.93 per tonne, down from $143.95 per tonne a day earlier.

Hard coking coal cfr Jingtang price stood at $140.20 per tonne on Tuesday, down from $141.09 on Monday. Hard coking coal fob DBCT price stood at $128.25 per tonne, down $0.79 on the day.

Demand for hard coking coal remained low while market activity centred mostly on semi-hard coking coal, semi-soft coking coal and pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal, several sources told Steel First.

“There were a few PCI enquiries but I don’t have anything to offer unfortunately,” an Australian miner said.

Bearish sentiment persisted among sources speaking to Steel First. They do not expect the market to take a turn for the better before the end of the year.

“I did get a few offers but I don’t really look at them seriously unless the prices are exceptionally low,” a mill source said. “There is no demand at the moment so prices don’t really mean anything.”

“The market is still going down. Buyers will not move if there’s no demand for any specific brands,” a trading source in Beijing said.

The most-traded May coking coal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at 1,119 yuan ($182) per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged from Monday’s close. The most-traded May coke contract closed at 1,620 yuan ($264) per tonne, up from 1,609 yuan ($262) per tonne a day earlier.