Thermal coal

Production area Mine-mouth thermal coal prices see mild adjustments. Opencast and some underground mines cut or halted production due to continued snowfall, which also resulted in few arrivals of coal-haul trucks and high coal stocks at most mines. The market basically was in suspension and trading activities were quite dull.

Northern port The portside market trended lower compared with previous days. Sellers stabilized offer prices and became more active in selling, yet the downstream was not in a rush to purchase. Market participants reckoned favorable conditions emerged after coal stocks at the downstream plants declined passively due to blizzard-disrupted coal production and shipment and port closures, but prices are more likely to fluctuate because of the lack of upward strength and high stocks at ports and power plants. 

Import market The imported coal market remained stable as a whole. The tender-bidding price didn't change much, and foreign miners maintained offer prices firm. Transactions were limited due to large sell-buy price spread. Supramax 3,800 Kcal/kg NAR coal was heard at about $58.5-59/t FOB, while the downstream bid at $58/t FOB.

Coking coal

Coking coal supply is likely to remain tight in the short run amid escalated safety checks following recent accidents, miners' consideration of safe production and completion of annual production goals. Some coal mines cut or halted operation after snowfall-induced logistics delays caused stock buildup. The online auctions weakened as market sentiment declined. More trades, except those for backbone grades, failed or traded lower. But considering the weather interruptions, miners maintained spot prices unchanged.

China's Ganqimaodu border port let in 499 trucks of Mongolian coal on December 14, while Mandula let in three trucks, since heavy snowfall severely disrupted efficiency of customs clearance. The imported seaborne trades were in stagnation amid price tussle. This week an Indian end buyer settled a sell tender for Australian low-vol hard coking coal at $305/t FOB, down $30/t from the week prior.

Met coke

A few cokemakers proposed to raise coke prices by 100-110 yuan/t for the fourth round. Some coking plants turned losses into profits after three rounds of price hikes, but most of them were reluctant to raise output due to expensive premium coal prices and environmental checks. The interrupted logistics following heavy snowfalls not only slowed down coke dispatches from coking plants, but dragged down coke stocks at steel mills. But the market is likely to remain stable in the short run as weather impact is not expected to last long.