Australia steam coal spurts amidst subdued trend
15 Jan 2015
January 15: Prices of Australian steam coal jumped sharply on January 14 even as South African coal prices continued their downward journey on continued lack of European demand, market sources said.
Australian steam coal prices advanced by nearly $2 per ton during the day amidst limited or no trading even as standard South African steam coal (6,000 kcal/kg NAR) prices slipped below $60 per ton, they said.
Indian traders continued to look at bargain buying and were also looking at some credit facilities from miners and suppliers as some of them were reportedly facing difficulties in opening letters of credit (LC) back in India.
Following are the indicative prices of coal in various markets and indicative freight rates on January 14:
Description of Coal |
Specification |
Price/ton (in $ and FOB) |
||||
As on, |
As on, |
Week ago, |
6-month ago, |
Year ago, |
||
January 14, 2015 |
January 13, 2015 |
January 7, 2015 |
July 15, 2014 |
January 15, 2014 |
||
South African Steam Coal |
6000 Kcal/kg NAR |
59.80 |
60.40 |
62.00 |
69.90 |
86.25 |
South African Steam Coal |
5500 Kcal/kg NAR |
52.00 |
52.10 |
53.60 |
63.65 |
67.70 |
Australian Steam Coal |
6300 Kcal/kg GAR |
65.00 |
63.15 |
64.60 |
68.75 |
82.70 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
5900 Kcal/kg GAR |
58.75 |
59.00 |
59.00 |
65.30 |
70.25 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
5000 Kcal/kg GAR |
47.60 |
47.60 |
47.60 |
51.50 |
57.10 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
4200 Kcal/kg GAR |
34.80 |
34.80 |
34.80 |
36.70 |
38.25 |
Indonesian Steam Coal |
3800 Kcal/kg GAR |
28.60 |
28.60 |
28.60 |
30.40 |
32.10 |
Hard Coking Coal (Australian) |
VM-20.7%, Ash-10.5% |
109.00 |
109.00 |
109.75 |
112.00 |
131.75 |
Premium Low Vol |
VM-21.5%, Ash-9.3% |
108.00 |
108.00 |
108.75 |
111.00 |
130.25 |
Semi Soft |
79.50 |
80.80 |
81.40 |
75.00 |
92.00 |
|
Met Coke (CFR India) |
193.00 |
193.00 |
196.00 |
206.00 |
272.00 |
Freight rates:
Destination |
(in $/ton) |
||||
As on |
As on |
Week ago, |
6-month ago, |
Year ago, |
|
January 14, 2015 |
January 13, 2015 |
January 7, 2015 |
July 15, 2014 |
January 15, 2014 |
|
South Africa (RBCT) to India (West Coast) |
9.70 |
10.75 |
11.30 |
13.30 |
15.60 |
South Africa (RBCT) to India (East Coast) |
9.20 |
10.40 |
11.80 |
14.40 |
15.80 |
Indonesia (Kalimantan) to India (West Coast) |
7.25 |
7.25 |
7.40 |
8.80 |
9.30 |
Indonesia (Kalimantan) to India (East Coast) |
6.00 |
6.00 |
6.60 |
7.80 |
8.30 |
Australia to India |
9.90 |
9.90 |
10.50 |
14.30 |
17.00 |
Source: Traders and ICMW database