The seaborne low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) cfr price declined on Friday February 19 on alleviated Russian-origin material supply tightness while the majority of Australian coal cargoes were still in anchorage, sources said.
Fastmarkets indices
Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.13 per tonne, down $0.13 per tonne
Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.48 per tonne, unchanged
Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.07 per tonne, unchanged
Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $203 per tonne, unchanged
No transactions were heard on Friday February 19, sources told Fastmarkets.
"Russia-origin low-vol PCI supply is not as tight as it was before the Lunar New Year public holiday and its offer price is now around $145 per tonne cfr China," a trader source said.
Last December, the supply of Russian low-vol PCI was tight due to rail-freight capacity issues in the Russian Far East.
Another trader source estimated that the tradable price for Russian low-vol PCI is at $135 per tonne cfr China now.
A trader source from northern China said that five cargoes of Australian coal, which had been waiting in anchorage, were unloaded recently.
"But it's uncertain whether those cargoes will be allowed to pass customs clearance," he said.
Some cargoes of Australian coking coal, which had been in anchorage since China's unofficial ban on Australian coal last October, were resold to other countries at a discount, while the majority of cargoes are still in anchorage along Chinese ports.
Market participants are uncertain on whether or when those cargoes of Australian coal will be allowed to be unloaded or go through customs clearance.
"It's unlikely that China will remove the ban on Australian coal in the first half of 2021," a trader from China said.
Dalian Commodity Exchange
The most-traded May coking coal futures contract closed at 1,567.50 yuan ($242.12) per tonne on Friday, down by 41 yuan per tonne.
The most-traded May coke contract closed at 2,711.50 yuan per tonne, down by 50.50 yuan per tonne.