Australian Coking Coal: Prices stay flat amid market inactivity in China
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Seaborne metallurgical coal prices were largely unmoved as the Chinese market has been muted for the ongoing Golden Week celebrations, while other major Asia-Pacific markets outside China continue exhibiting subdued demand for the last several months.
Nevertheless, Chinese-delivered seaborne coking coal prices were pushed up on Monday September 30, amid substantial buying activity ahead of the country's weeklong National Day holidays.
There seemed 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.
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.
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 117.80/MT FOB Australia.
For Indian buyers, the above offers amount to USD 152.50/MT and USD 133.30/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 | 105.50 | 106.30 |
| Mid Tier PCI | 88.80 | 103.50 | 104.30 |
| Semi Soft | 76.80 | 91.50 | 92.30 |
N.B.: All prices are in USD/MT
