Coal news and updates

ICE Coal Futures rise 38% on month in Nov to 164.8 mil mt

The volume of coal traded and cleared on the ICE Futures platform during November rose 38% on the month to a five-month high of 164.8 million mt, according to data from energy exchange ICE Futures Europe and electronic trading platform globalCOAL late Wednesday.

The monthly volume was also 34% higher on the year.

November's monthly volume comprised 50.7 million mt of options, making up 31% of the total, which was 94% higher from October and up 10% on the year.

The amount of ICE Rotterdam Coal Futures traded and cleared during November climbed 71% on the month to a five-month high of 118.6 million mt.

The volume was also 20% higher on the year, with 36%, or 42.3 million mt, traded as options. The amount of Rotterdam options for the month more than doubled from October's 17.6 million mt, but decreased 3% year on year.

According to Platts data, Rotterdam prompt-month December derivatives fell $1.60 during the month to close at $50.20/mt on November 30.

ICE Richards Bay Futures volumes more than tripled on the month to a five-month high of 8 million mt, from 2.5 million mt in October. November's volume was also 11% higher year on year, with none traded as options for the fifth straight month.

Richards Bay December swaps contracts saw increases during November, rising $2.45 to close the month at $53.85/mt, according to Platts data.

On the other hand, volumes of globalCOAL Newcastle Coal Futures traded and cleared during November fell 19% on the month to a four-month low of 38.1 million mt, although it was more than double November 2014's 16.8 million mt.

Options made up 22% of the total Newcastle contracts at 8.4 million mt, which was 2% lower than October's volume but more than six times the 1.3 million mt sold as options during the same month in 2014.

According to Platts data, Newcastle prompt-month paper prices gained 50 cents from November 2 to $53.70/mt at the end of the month.

source: http://www.platts.com