Coal news and updates

US petcoke prices drop on weak overseas demand

US and Venezuelan petcoke prices dropped roughly $2 across the board this week on lackluster overseas demand and continued oversupply in the marketplace, sources said Wednesday.

Traders and end users were heard "fishing" for good deals with sparse demand for both mid-sulfur and high sulfur petcoke, one US Gulf Coast trader source said.

"The truth is I haven't seen any firm bids out there," the source said. "It's been really quiet."

A European trader reported Indian buyers would only buy high sulfur petcoke priced between $70/mt and $72/mt, which would net roughly $42-$43/mt.

A North American cement buyer echoed the weaker pricing sentiment, saying he had heard FOB pricing of $43-$45/mt for October delivery.

One USGC fuel buyer who had sent out a solicitation for October through December petcoke shipments reported roughly 10 bids, which included some fixed price offers that were indicative of future price drops, he said.

"Things are dropping on the higher sulfur numbers," the buyer said. "We've all on this {buying} side been waiting for this for a while."

Platts assessed high sulfur petcoke out of the USGC at $41-$45/mt, down $2 on the lower leg and down $1 on the upper leg, and assessed 5%-6% sulfur petcoke at $46-$48/mt, down $2 on each leg, based on market surveys.

In the mid-sulfur market, prices also came down with two tenders for 4.5% sulfur Venezuelan petcoke with 50-60 HGI expected to net roughly $57/mt FOB, the European trader said.

The tenders, issued by Turkish cement company Akcansa and German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, were expected to be made public within "a few days," the source said.

He expected a CFR Turkey price of $73/mt for the Akcansa tender and CFR ARA price of $71/mt for the ThyssenKrupp tender, he said.

The last reported mid-sulfur deal out of the USGC came from a refining source for 4.8% sulfur at $59.25/mt, for a 50,000 mt cargo loading in August. The same refiner is said to have already issued another tender for the same type of petcoke, which has HGI of 42-44. Another deal was reported for a 50,000 mt cargo out of the USGC for 4% sulfur petcoke priced in the lower $60 range. The cargo commanded a premium price to typical mid-sulfur petcoke due to its lower sulfur levels, said the USGC refiner who reported the deal.

Platts assessed 4%-5% sulfur petcoke out of the USGC at $54/mt-$58/mt and assessed Venezuelan petcoke at $55/mt-$59/mt, based on market surveys. Both assessment ranges were down $2 on each leg.

In the US West Coast markets, prices held steady this week after a sharp falloff last week due to fallout from the Chinese economic crisis.

One deal was reported for a 50,000 mt cargo of 3% sulfur petcoke loading in September for $71/mt.

The price was considered lower than the quality of the cargo by a West Coast trader, who said the refinery that sold the cargo typically sells petcoke with 3.5% sulfur and prices reflected that higher sulfur level.

"They sold a better quality for a lower price because it gets mixed up with the old coke," he said.

Platts assessed greater than 2.5% sulfur petcoke at $62-$76/mt, down $1 on the lower leg and up $1 on the upper leg, and assessed less than 2.5% sulfur petcoke at $82-$92/mt, unchanged on the week.

source: http://www.platts.com