Asia met coal steady; market seeks price direction

摘要

Singapore—Seaborne metallurgical coal prices were unchanged Tuesday as the return of Chinese buyers prompted market participants to look for price direction for both seaborne metallurgical coal and China’s domestic coke. Trading in the metallurgical coal spot market was thin with no fresh offers reported in the Chinese market. One sell-side source said he did not issue offers Tuesday, and was waiting for other sellers to do so. “We are also waiting to see if producers will sell any cargoes this week,” a Chinese trader said, as market participants look for fresh trades to determine the tradable level to China. “However, producers may not budge from the last traded level,” he said, referring to the Australian Premium Low Vol Peak Downs trade done at $148/mt FOB Australia for November shipment and $161/mt CFR China for end- October shipment. Both trades were done early last week.