Newcastle coal exports rise for week

Thursday, 21 Apr 2011, 5:56 PM | Reuters

Coal shipments from Newcastle port, which ships mostly thermal coal used in power plants, rose 2.7 per cent in the week ending April 18, Newcastle Port Corporation said on its website.

Exports from the eastern coast port were 2.204 million tonnes in the week, up from 2.146 million the previous week.

Newcastle ships out coal produced in Australia's eastern state of New South Wales.

Australia's thermal coal prices on the globalCOAL weekly index, a benchmark for Asia, closed at $US121.22 per tonne for the week to date on Thursday, down from $US123.86 a week earlier.

The vessel queue at the port rose slightly to right ships last week from seven, while the average waiting time for vessels at the port was steady at around six and a half days.

Twenty-four ships were travelling to the port to load coal, down from 23 last week, the port said.

In a separate report, the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator (HVCCC), which helps coordinate coal exports, also put the number of vessels in the queue at the port at eight by midnight on Wednesday. (By Reuters)