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EURO Coal May prices edge up on modest utility buying

Reuters reported that European physical coal prices for May delivery edged up on the back of a modest pick up in demand from utilities.

Cargoes for delivery in May to the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp traded at USD 79 per tonne up USD 0.90 from Friday's settlement.

A coal trader said that “We have seen some increased demand for the May contract from utilities. I don't see any particular reason but utilities usually start ramping up their hedging at this time of year.”

Some 50,000 tonnes of May ARA coal had traded by 1530 GMT, according to data on online trading platform globalCOAL. The April and June ARA contracts had not traded by 1530 GMT.

Traders said that the market was still weak after a mild winter has left Europe's coal stocks relatively high and that a warm start to spring was further limiting demand. The threat of increased supply from Colombia also weighed on the market.

Source: Reuters/Coal Guru