Australian Coking Coal Prices Plunge Amid Strong Demand for Premium Mid Vol

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices plunged down by $8.75/mt on Thursday in the FOB Australia market, while the HCC 64 Mid Vol prices continued its marginal fall.

Nevertheless, through the start of the week, offers for Premium HCC had continued to climb amid strong demand especially for the Premium Mid Vol Goonyella type of coking coal.

Meanwhile, Chinese end-users could not consider seaborne coking coal given the temporary halt on imports and current port restrictions in place. Hence, trading activity remained muted with no firm bids or offers heard on the China market. Accordingly, CFR China met coal prices were steady with uncertainties lying ahead in the country.

PRICE ASSESSMENTS

The latest price for the Premium HCC grade is assessed at around USD 227.25/MT FOB Australia, higher by about USD 6.15/MT than the average price of around USD 221.10/MT in the week gone by (26-30 Nov'18).

Latest import offers for the 64 Mid Vol HCC grade are assessed at around USD 185.80/MT FOB Australia, lower by about USD 4.43/MT than the average price of around USD 190.23/MT in the last week.

For Indian buyers, the above offers amount to USD 240.30/MT and USD 198.85/MT respectively on CNF India basis.