Australian Coking Coal: Prices plummet amid oversupply and import restrictions in China
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The Australian export price of premium low-volatile (PLV) hard coking coal (HCC) has plunged about 20 percent this month, amid ample availability of lower quality seaborne cargoes and lengthy customs clearing process in China.
Moreover, there seems to be some panic selling among traders who are concerned about a further drop in demand with the import quotas at Chinese ports nearly exhausted for the remainder of the year.
Meanwhile, Indian demand for spot shipments of seaborne coking coal has been dampened by the prevailing bearishness in the domestic steel sector, which has been plagued by softer prices and higher input costs on the back of muted demand growth, owing to slowdowns in automobile, manufacturing and property construction.
Overall, there is a possibility of prices remaining at lower levels in the short term, with the potential for further deterioration in light of uncertainties and weaknesses in the global macroeconomic environment.
PRICE ASSESSMENTS
Latest offers for the Premium HCC grade are assessed at around USD 137.00/MT FOB Australia, lower by USD 4.50/MT than the average rate of USD 141.50/MT prevailing during the week gone by (16 Sep - 20 Sep'19).
Offers for the 64 Mid Vol HCC grade are assessed at around USD 119.80/MT FOB Australia.
For Indian buyers, the above offers amount to USD 152.80/MT and USD 135.60/MT respectively on CNF India basis.
Pulverized Coal Injection (PCI) & Semi Soft Coking Coal
| FOB Australia | CNF China | CNF India | |
| Low Vol PCI | 90.80 | 106.00 | 106.60 |
| Mid Tier PCI | 88.80 | 104.00 | 104.60 |
| Semi Soft | 76.80 | 92.00 | 92.60 |
N.B.: All prices are in USD/MT
