NYMEX look-alike coal rose at least 25 cents in the near term and by at least 75 cents further along the curve.
Market sources said the rise in NYMEX look-alike prices could be viewed as a "price correction" in what was a thinly traded market, as the Labor Day holiday weekend draws near.
First-quarter 2011 NYMEX look-alike coal traded at $63.25/st for five barges, 25 cents above the Platts assessment. Q3 2011 traded five barges at $67.75/st, while Q4 2011 traded five barges at $70.25/st, 75 cents above Wednesday's traded price.
Further along the curve, Q4 2012 traded five barges at $77/st. Also trading at a discount for five barges was Q2 2011-over-Q3 2011 at $2.40/st.
The natural gas market lacked direction Thursday after the US Energy Information Administration reported a build to storage stocks that was within analyst expectations. The October NYMEX natural gas futures contract closed 1.1 cents lower Thursday at $3.751/MMBtu (story, 1948 GMT) despite somewhat encouraging economic data on housing, manufacturing and employment.
Market sources said over-the-counter coal prices already had fallen as much as they could in response to low gas prices and rebounded Thursday, displaying the "rubber band effect."
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
