Coking coal prices continue to rise in Asian markets

04 December 2017

Constrained supply from Australia meant that the coking coal prices continued to move up in the Asian markets. Despite of the elevated prices, the participants seemed to have more appetite coming from the demand side, which means prices may not see any major downtrend in the near term.

Also, the current demand is across the board for both premium and semi premium materials. Strong demand continued to be heard from buyers in Asia outside of Japan, while the perceived tightness of cargoes for the near term continued.

On Thursday, S&P Global Platts assessed Premium Low Vol FOB Australia up $2.50/mt to $213.50/mt FOB Australia, while CFR China prices remained flat at $208.50/mt. Moreover, for HCC 64 Mid Vol FOB Australia prices were at $168.35/mt, CFR China prices were at $180/mt.

Moreover, the PCI coal also continued to strengthen, particularly for mid-vol PCIs, with the highest indicated bid at $130/mt CFR China for Australian mid-tier PCI 19-21% VM, 9-10% ash, as coke continued to strengthen and such coals have a greater likelihood of being used also as lean coal.

Furthermore, the met coke market also continued to strengthen, with one trader saying coke supplies were now very tight, and indicated that he would offer $310/mt FOB China for a 64/62% CSR cargo.