Buyers and traders of met coal have said they are becoming flexible where possible as tightness in US high vol coal availability continues.
Traders said this week that they are in negotiations for US-origin high vol B coal for the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2017 but that there was a limited amount available and that they may not be able to get all the material required. It was also too early to provide any estimate on price.
One European buyer said that with buying almost complete for the third quarter, he could take high-vol A or B depending on availability, though preferring high-vol A where possible.
He said the current S&P Global Platts assessment of $102/mt FOB USEC is "in line with how we see the market right now."
One trader said coke was stronger and that he was looking at around $170/mt soon for Chinese material. He said also that European demand for met coal "is there, but not massive," but a lot of buyers have come late to the market as they were waiting for prices to come down further.
Russian PCI coal has also reportedly strengthened and is now hovering at around the "high $70s/mt FOB" area, with figures of $78-79/mt possible, depending on delivery time. For Q1 2017 some expect to see prices of around $80/mt FOB for this material.
Platts assessed US low-vol hard coking coal, based on good-quality CAPP low-vol with 58% CSR, 1.5% MMR and 19% VM, flat at $98/mt FOB on Wednesday.
Platts US high-vol A assessment added 25 cents to $102.25/mt FOB US East Coast.
Platts assessed US high-vol B, based on 34% VM coal with 25,000 ddpm and sulfur of 0.95%, up 25 cents at $94.25/mt FOB USEC.
