Seaborne coking coal offers slightly up in May

Seaborne coking coal offers staged modest gains in May 2020 on active buying support from China even as demand in other markets like India remained dull owing to limited steel production because of lockdown to stop spread of coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said.

- Arindam Bandyopadhyay

The premium variety of coking coal was quoted at $113 per ton FOB Australia on May 29 as against $110 per ton FOB Australia on April 30.

Peak Down prices were quoted at $114 per ton FOB Australia on May 29, 2020 as compared to $111 per ton FOB Australia on April 30.

Even though prices moved up because of active buying in China, towards the end of May offers eased a bit on lower bidding. Tighter import restrictions in China were a cause for concern for the coking coal suppliers.

The annual sitting of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the ‘twin sessions’ - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China’s economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.