Combined coal stocks at three delivery terminals in Western Europe's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp trading hub rose for the first time in over six weeks, with inventories up 5.9% on the week at 3.8 million mt.
Several sources said that an improved arrival schedule had bolstered stocks, which was expected to continue in the coming weeks in the run up to Christmas and the New Year.
Cold weather across much of the ARA region had failed to prompt much of a demand response from power generators, however, as reloading activity remained relatively slow for the time of the year.
At 3.8 million, stocks were around 25% lower than in the same week of 2015, according to S&P Global Platts data.
The largest rise was at OBA Bulk Amsterdam's terminal, where inventories had climbed 120,000 mt over the week according to port sources, the highest increase in over a month. At 1.72 million mt, the volume was 580,000 mt below levels seen at the terminal a year ago, however.
Gains were also evident at the EMO Dry Bulk Terminal, where volumes edged up 100,000 mt over the week to around 1.7 million mt. This was also 600,000 mt lower than the same week of 2015.
The only facility to register a reduction was the OVET Dry Bulk Terminal in Vlissingen, which had 415,000 mt of coal in stock, a fall of 5,000 mt on the week and 32,000 mt on the year.
European-delivered thermal coal spot prices fell by $7.50 over the previous week, pulled lower by reductions in Asia and an earlier-than-expected restart to French nuclear reactors, which had weighed on power prices.
S&P Global Platts assessed the price of European-delivered CIF ARA thermal coal basis 6,000 kcal/kg NAR and for delivery within the next 15-60 days at $80.25/mt Wednesday.
Prices were supported by limited availability on the prompt, however, with several sources saying that SCoTA-specification material was now extremely thin on the ground. This had created a strongly backwardated structure into January and February, prompting buyers to defer demand until the New Year or waiting for an expected fall in prices.
