Firmness continues in international coal markets
04 Mar 2014
March 04: International coal prices firmed up further on expectation of higher enquiries after freight rate softened sharply, industry sources said.
South African coal prices moved up again on March 03 even as Australian steam coal prices softened a bit after reports that Chinese producers have cut their prices which may prompt Chinese consumers to buy coal from their domestic market at the cost of Australia, source said.
“In fact, a firm trend in freight rates had prevented a lot of companies to delay their purchases in recent days. With softening of rates, it is expected that buying activity would go up even as there may be not be real benefit because of the fact that coal prices too have started firming up,” they added.
Following are the indicative prices of coal in various markets and indicative freight rates on March 03:
Description of Coal
|
Specification |
Price/ton (in $ and FOB) as on Mar 03, 2014 |
Price/ton (in $ and FOB) as on Feb 28, 2014 |
Week Ago Price/ton (in $ and FOB) Feb 24, 2014 |
6-month ago Price/ton (in $ and FOB) Sep 04, 2013 |
Year Ago Price/ton (in $ and FOB) Mar 04, 2013 |
South African Steam Coal |
6000 Kcal/kg NAR |
75.75 |
75.50 |
77.00 |
71.15 |
84.25 |
South African Steam Coal |
5500 Kcal/kg NAR |
64.10 |
63.90 |
63.25 |
62.25 |
NA |
Australian Steam Coal |
6300 Kcal/kg GAR |
77.50 |
77.75 |
77.25 |
74.90 |
94.10 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
5900 Kcal/kg GAR |
70.00 |
70.00 |
70.00 |
68.60 |
76.00 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
5000 Kcal/kg GAR |
56.25 |
56.25 |
56.75 |
56.70 |
60.10 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
4200 Kcal/kg GAR |
38.20 |
38.20 |
38.00 |
40.00 |
41.30 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
3800 Kcal/kg GAR |
32.00 |
32.00 |
32.00 |
34.60 |
35.10 |
Hard Coking Coal (Australian) |
VM-20.7%, Ash-10.5% |
121.00 |
121.00 |
123.00 |
151.00 |
167.50 |
Premium Low Vol |
VM-21.5%, Ash-9.3% |
119.00 |
119.50 |
121.50 |
149.00 |
167.00 |
Semi Soft |
|
84.00 |
83.75 |
85.00 |
99.50 |
117.00 |
Met Coke (CFR India) |
|
246.00 |
246.00 |
250.00 |
260.00 |
300.00 |
Freight Rate:
Destination
|
As on Mar 03, 2014 (in $/ton) |
As on Feb 28, 2014 (in $/ton) |
Week Ago Feb 24, 2014 (in $/ton) |
6-month Ago Sep 04, 2013 (in $/ton) |
Year Ago Mar 04, 2013 (in $/ton) |
South Africa (RBCT) to India (West Coast) |
16.60 |
17.00 |
16.50 |
14.70 |
15.20 |
South Africa (RBCT) to India (East Coast) |
17.10 |
17.50 |
17.00 |
15.25 |
16.20 |
Indonesia (Kalimantan) to India (West Coast) |
11.10 |
11.40 |
10.80 |
10.10 |
10.00 |
Indonesia (Kalimantan) to India (East Coast) |
9.60 |
10.00 |
9.60 |
8.90 |
9.00 |
Australia to India |
17.50 |
18.00 |
17.75 |
17.00 |
16.00 |
Source: Traders & ICMW data base