Australian Coking Coal Prices Decline Amid Withering Demand
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Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices have fallen further as sellers lowered their offers to raise demand, while the mid-volatile hard coking coal prices have held relatively steady over the past few days.
In China, market activity remained muted, with no fresh offers heard. Chinese steelmakers are also cautious of the bearish steel outlook, considering possibilities of ad hoc production cuts in the second half of the year. Moreover, import restrictions and currency volatility has kept steelmakers at the sidelines.
At the current high levels, seaborne coking coal prices fail to attract firm responses from Chinese end-users, especially as most buyers still adopt a cautious stance against purchasing seaborne cargoes -- in the light of uncertain port restrictions causing lengthy delays in customs clearance.
Market sources have indicated that buying activities should resume if prices continue to move down, below USD 190/MT FOB Australia for Premium Low Vol.
In the hard coking coal segment, tight supply of spot cargoes has countered the downfall in prices comparative to premium hard coals.
In the pulverized coal injection (PCI) segment, current prices have stayed largely stable, but unfavorable port concerns have resulted in a slowdown in Chinese demand.
| FOB Australia | CNF China | CNF India | |
| Low Vol PCI | 121.75 | 133.50 | 135.00 |
| Mid Tier PCI | 117.50 | 129.25 | 130.75 |
| Semi Soft | 88.25 | 100.00 | 101.50 |
N.B.: All prices are in USD/MT
PRICE ASSESSMENTS
Latest offers for the Premium HCC grade are assessed at around USD 191.00/MT FOB Australia, lower by USD 4.45/MT than the average rate of USD 195.45/MT prevailing in the week gone by (24-28 Jun'19).
Offers for the 64 Mid Vol HCC grade are assessed at around USD 174.75/MT FOB Australia.
For Indian buyers, the above offers amount to USD 204.25/MT and USD 188.00/MT respectively on CNF India basis.
