China Coal-Spot prices steady, coal imports stay robust

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Jul 2009

Spot prices of coal in China's top coal shipping port were steady from a week earlier, as supply remained abundant, while coal imports are expected to stay robust through the summer, traders and analysts said on Thursday. Prices for coal with calorific value of 5,800 kcal/kg (NAR) inched down 2.5 yuan to 595 to 610 yuan ($87.1 - $89.3) a tonne. But coal with calorific value of 5,500 kcal/kg (NAR) was quoted in the range of 550 to 570 yuan, up 5 yuan from a week earlier, according to the Qinhuangdao Seaborne Coal Market. "Power output and industrial activity both are looking up, showing that the economy is on course to a recovery. Meanwhile, coal supply has been improving," said Judy Zhu, an analyst at Standard Chartered. China imported a record high of 16.07 million tonnes of coal in June, pushing the country to become a net coal importer by the end of the first half of 2009.
"Demand for imported coal is still pretty good, but the volume is likely to dip after September, when contracts signed when prices were lower run out," said a Beijing-based trader, adding that imports in July were likely to be around 10 million tonnes.
Thermal coal prices on the globalCOAL Newcastle weekly index, a benchmark for Asia, hovered just below their five-month high at $76.94 a tonne on Thursday, compared with below $60 in early April.

Source: Reuters