The seaborne coking coal spot market quietened down on Thursday January 31 amid a softening of sentiment in China, where import restrictions have emerged at ports in the country's northeastern region.
While word had emerged on Wednesday about customs authorities not clearing Australian coking coal for entry at the Port of Dandong in Liaoning province, a mill source in the northeastern region said the restriction had been extended to the Port of Bayuquan in the same province."We have a cargo, scheduled for loading in February. We might have to discharge the cargo at another port in China, which would result in us incurring additional costs of around 30-50 yuan per tonne. But considering the high port fees and high demurrage costs at [the Port of] Bayuquan [due to congestion], the cost...