Coking Coal Prices Continue to Fall on Softening Demand, Increasing Availability

The international Coking Coal market is in line with speculations--continuous fall in demand and slipping prices.

The demand for the coal in China has been constantly softening due to the 50% steel production cut to be implemented in that country from mid-Nov'17 to mid-Mar'18, as part of the Chinese government's effort to curb pollution. At the same time, domestic Coking Coal production in China has increased recently. Some mines in the Shanxi region of that country have resumed functioning, leading to domestic price cuts by around Yuan 50-150/MT, with the Premium HCC varieties are being sold at around Yuan 1,450-1,570/MT. As a result of increased safety inspections and mine shutdowns, prices of Coking Coal in China were relatively steady during the recent past.

In Australia, spot prices of Coking Coal have been declining, mainly due to the softening import demand from Chinese steel makers.

The latest offer for the Premium HCC is assessed at around USD 179/MT FoB Australia, lower by around USD 17/MT over the week-ago offer. However, the recent offer for the 64 Mid Vol HCC is assessed at around USD 152.20/MT FoB Australia, almost at the rate assessed in the last week albeit a slight upward drift.

Source: CoalMint Research

For Indian buyers, these offers translate into: USD 193/MT and USD 166.20/MT respectively on CFR India basis.

Imports of the coal are expected to invigorate in India in the near future as the buyers are waiting for the prices to go down further to significant levels.