COKING COAL DAILY: Seaborne premium prices rise on Chinese demand

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices rose on Friday September 11 after Chinese market participants returned to the market and added impetus to spot trading activity, sources said.

Fastmarkets indices
Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.38 per tonne, up $1.20 per tonne
Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $127.59 per tonne, up $0.78 per tonne
Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $92.18 per tonne, unchanged
Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $103.04 per tonne, unchanged
An 85,000-tonne cargo of premium low-volatility hard coking coal, with October 1-10 laycan, was traded at $131.70 per tonne cfr China on Friday September 11, sources told Fastmarkets.
This transaction, along with a deal for premium mid-volatility hard coking coal at $120 per tonne cfr China concluded on September 9, showed signs of a rebound in trading and seaborne premium hard coking coal prices in the cfr market after a price slump in July and stagnant trading in August, sources said.
Several market participants heard that both of those cargoes had been bought by traders from China.
"Maybe traders have found steel mills who can take the seaborne material. There's one steel mill in northern China that has some import quotas for spot cargoes," a buyer source said.
One trader source in Singapore said the rise in the premium low-vol hard coking coal price in the cfr market would affect the fob market and make the premium mid-vol hard coking coal price stronger. Therefore, he increased his estimates for premium low-vol hard coking coal by $2 per tonne fob Australia and by $1 per tonne fob Australia for premium mid-vol hard coking coal from the day before.
"The transaction today is a positive sign, showing that Chinese demand will come back. It adds a real impetus to the spot market," the Singapore-based trader added.
Dalian Commodity Exchange
The most-traded January coking coal futures contract closed at 1,257 yuan ($183.82) per tonne on Friday, up by 10.50 yuan per tonne.
The most-traded January coke contract closed at 1,976.50 yuan per tonne, up by 15 yuan per tonne.

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