Most Platts spot assessments for hard coking coal were unchanged Friday, with the exception of the China import price for mid-vol coals, which slipped by $2/mt to $210/mt. Platts HCC 64% CSR mid-vol price ended the week at $195/mt FOB Australia, $1/mt higher than a week ago.
Indonesian hard coking coal was reported sold earlier this week into China at $198/mt CFR by a trader, 50,000 mt, November laycan. This coal has around 24% VM, less than 1% sulfur, a crucible swell number of 8.5-9 and good maceral composition.
Another cargo of the same material was sold last week at the same price for an October laycan.
The trader commented that he felt he could have achieved a better price if he had waited, but wanted to conclude the deal before the Chinese holiday.
Australian premium hard coking coals were typically being offered at $215-216/mt FOB Australia, but there was little interest from traders at such levels.
Asian steelmakers polled this week said they had little interest in buying additional spot coking coal. Many of them have some carryover tonnage from Q3 2010 after having asked for delays in contracted deliveries over the summer. The carryover mostly applied to non-premium grades, however.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
