A slow week in the over-the-counter US coal market continued Thursday as brokers reported few deals and a wide range between bids and offers even as the August and fourth-quarter contracts rolled into the front position.
A broker reported bids and offers 50 cents to a $1 wide on some deals amid a day when no physical trades were heard in either the Powder River Basin 8,800 Btu/lb or Central Appalachia rail (CSX) 12,500 Btu/lb contracts.
The physically settled CAPP barge (12,000 Btu/lb) contract for Q4 did clear once for $62/st for five barges/month. It was the first CAPP barge trade in any time period since Friday.
Platts assessed the front-month (August) price for the contract at $61.75/st, up 15 cents from Wednesday.
In the CAPP rail financial market, the Q4 contract traded twice early in the session for $59.75/st for 5,000 st/month each. The Q1 2015 contract also traded for $60.75/st for 5,000 st/month.
There was also an option trade for the CAPP rail Q4 contract, a call with a strike price of $62.50/st for 10 cents/st for 10,000 st/month.
Platts assessed the August physical CAPP rail (CSX) contract at $58.90/st, down 60 cents from Wednesday, based on broker marks.
There were no financial PRB 8,800 contracts cleared Thursday. Platts assessed the price of the physical contract for August at $12/st, down 10 cents from Wednesday, based on broker marks.
The Atlantic seaborne market continues to face an oversupply situation that puts most US thermal coal out of the money.
Platts assessed the price of US Eastern coal FOB Hampton Roads (6,500 kcal/kg, or roughly 12,200 Btu/lb) at $76.75/st, unchanged from Wednesday.
Platts' CIF ARA marker, which tracks the delivered price of thermal coal (6,000 kcal/kg, or roughly 11,300 Btu/lb) into Northern Europe, was assessed Thursday at $71.40/mt, up 30 cents from Wednesday, on potential supply disruption issues in Colombia due to labor strife.
Three multi-origin 50,000 mt cargoes with US optionality for delivery to Rotterdam traded on the globalCOAL screen Thursday: a July deal at $70.75/mt, up 5 cents from the last July trade Tuesday; an August trade at $72/mt, up 80 cents from Wednesday; and a September cargo at $72.90/mt, 50 cents higher from Wednesday.
In the US natural gas market, the NYMEX July natural gas futures contract settled 15.3 cents lower Thursday, rolling off the board at $4.400/MMBtu after a government report showed a stronger-than-expected build to US storage inventories.
Storage rose by 110 Bcf in the week ended June 20, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the seventh straight week injections hit triple digits.
The gain was above the 102-106 Bcf most analysts predicted and well above the 94-Bcf build last year and the 81-Bcf five-year average.
"The report was bearish, the weather is mild and rainy and we're probably going to get another big injection next week," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group.
