Chinese buying activity appears to be supporting prices for premium low-vol hard coking coal despite a bearish outlook for the market among Indian buyers who pointed to ample supply and a subdued steel market in the South Asian country.
A September-loading cargo of premium low-vol product was at $182.50 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 31.Another cargo of the same product changed hands at $183 per tonne cfr China a day earlier."The drivers of the current market are unclear to me. Seaborne prices for high-quality materials are actually quite competitive at the moment compared with domestic prices in China so I think cfr China prices should bottom out soon," a trader said.He said import restrictions in China and...