November thermal coal derivatives up 39% on-month to 102.76 mil mt: LEBA

18-December-2018

The volume of thermal coal derivatives traded and cleared in November rose 39% on-month to 102.76 million mt, also a gain of 9% from the year-ago period, according to data released Friday from the London Energy Brokers Association (LEBA).

The year-to-date volume stood at 800.46 million mt, a drop of 36% from the year-ago-period.

The volume of European CIF ARA derivatives traded and cleared came to 85.4 million mt, making up 83% of the total monthly volume and the highest monthly volume for this contract since May 2017.

The November volume for CIF ARA derivatives was an increase of 42% from October and a rise of 16% from the year-ago period.

The reason for the surge in CIF ARA contracts traded is likely to be due to the large price volatility over the course of November with all contracts falling sharply on bearish fundamentals setting into the market.

South African FOB Richards Bay derivatives traded and cleared stood at 5 million mt, a gain of 63% on-month but down 25% from the same month in 2017.

Source: S&P GLOBAL PLATTS