Central Appalachian thermal coal prices for April delivery fell to fresh near-term lows on Friday, as both the CAPP rail (CSX) and CAPP barge spot contracts were seen trading in the session.
CSX physical April fell 25 cents/st to $55.50/st, the lowest level for a front-month contract since October 11, when the front-month price reached $54.75/st.
CAPP barge April also fell 25 cents/st to $58.50/st, the lowest level since February 14, when the price closed at $58.15/st.
CSX April is down $9/st, or nearly 14%, since rolling into the prompt month position on February 26.
CAPP barge April is down $5.25/st, or 8.2%, over the same span.
In the US over-the-counter market, CSX physical April traded at $55.50/st for one train, and CAPP barge April traded at $58.50/st for 20 barges.
The sharp drop in CAPP coal prices coincides with the steep drop in the prompt month NYMEX natural gas futures price, which has fallen $1.836/MMBtu, or 29.9%, since closing at a near-term high of $6.149/MMBtu on February 19.
ATLANTIC SPOT MARKET EDGES HIGHER
European-delivered CIF ARA spot coal prices firmed marginally Friday, as the market waits for US miner Drummond's Colombian thermal coal exports to restart next week.
Market sources said that the marginal price recovery was due to physical prices following a higher paper market amid profit taking after several consecutive days of falls.
The CIF ARA-FOB CSX spread, or implied transportation spread, widened to $20.65/mt from $20/mt on Thursday.
US East Coast thermal coal (6,500 kcal/kg NAR 1% sulfur) was assessed down up 25 cents/mt to $76/mt.
