Saturday, 10 Mar 2012
Reuters reported that prompt physical steam coal prices fell slightly by around 25 cents a tonne on Friday as buyers pulled back and in line with weaker oil values. Brent crude fell 57 cents to USD 124.77 a barrel on Friday after key US jobs data beat expectations, lifting the dollar broadly to multi month highs against other currencies.
TRADES
An April loading Newcastle cargo traded at USD 105.00 a tonne on globalCOAL.
PRICES
A May South African cargo was bid at USD 103.25, down 25 cents with no offer
An April DES ARA cargo was offered at USD 98.00, unchanged
A May DES cargo was bid at USD 96.50 and offered at USD 98.90, down 40 cents
An April FOB Newcastle trade at USD 105 a tonne on globalCOAL was seen as a sign of current weakness because the last trade three weeks ago was at USD 120.
Australian producers usually try to defend the visible Newcastle prices in the run up to annual term contract talks with Japanese utilities and these have only just started. Xstrata is seeking at least USD 120 and hoping for USD 125, a level which may be unattainable with spot prices considerably below that.
FOB Richards Bay prices have come under less pressure because supply remains tight and stockpiles low but South African prices have followed the general trend down since the start of the year.
Source - Reuters
Showing posts with label FOB Richards Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FOB Richards Bay. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
South African steam coal prices rise
Tuesday, 21 Feb 2012
Reuters reported that prompt South African physical coal prices rose by around 50 cents on Monday as market participants tried to cover short positions taken at the end of last year amid tight supply for March in particular.
A March South African cargo was bid at USD 108.00 and offered at USD 110.00, up 50 cents on the bid.
An April South African cargo was bid at USD 105.35 and offered earlier at USD 105.90, up 40 cents.
A March DES ARA multi-origin cargo was bid at USD 96.00 and offered at USD 99.00, unchanged.
An April multi-origin cargo was bid at USD 99.00 and offered at USD 100.05, down USD 1.00 on the offer but unchanged on the bid.
Front month South African coal prices FOB Richards Bay have held a premium over subsequent months since January for the same reason and despite weak demand in Europe and Asia.
Players among banks, traders and utilities late last year sold coal swaps and physical in anticipation of being able to buy back at cheaper prices.
Although coal values have been dropping while China has remained out of the spot market, there is still some short-covering, which needs to be done and sellers are reluctant to offer while there's a chance Richards Bay prices will keep ticking higher.
(Sourced from Reuters)
Reuters reported that prompt South African physical coal prices rose by around 50 cents on Monday as market participants tried to cover short positions taken at the end of last year amid tight supply for March in particular.
A March South African cargo was bid at USD 108.00 and offered at USD 110.00, up 50 cents on the bid.
An April South African cargo was bid at USD 105.35 and offered earlier at USD 105.90, up 40 cents.
A March DES ARA multi-origin cargo was bid at USD 96.00 and offered at USD 99.00, unchanged.
An April multi-origin cargo was bid at USD 99.00 and offered at USD 100.05, down USD 1.00 on the offer but unchanged on the bid.
Front month South African coal prices FOB Richards Bay have held a premium over subsequent months since January for the same reason and despite weak demand in Europe and Asia.
Players among banks, traders and utilities late last year sold coal swaps and physical in anticipation of being able to buy back at cheaper prices.
Although coal values have been dropping while China has remained out of the spot market, there is still some short-covering, which needs to be done and sellers are reluctant to offer while there's a chance Richards Bay prices will keep ticking higher.
(Sourced from Reuters)
Monday, December 12, 2011
South African Coal Export Prices Rise for Second Straight Week
Monday, Dec 12, 2011
Coal export prices at South Africa’s Richards Bay, the continent’s biggest terminal for shipping the fuel, rose for the second week.
Prices increased 66 cents, or 0.6 percent, last week to an average $103.18 a metric ton, following a 0.2 percent gain in the week ended Dec. 2, according to data on Bloomberg from researcher IHS McCloskey. The price is quoted on a free-on-board basis, excluding delivery costs.
(sourced Bloomberg)
Coal export prices at South Africa’s Richards Bay, the continent’s biggest terminal for shipping the fuel, rose for the second week.
Prices increased 66 cents, or 0.6 percent, last week to an average $103.18 a metric ton, following a 0.2 percent gain in the week ended Dec. 2, according to data on Bloomberg from researcher IHS McCloskey. The price is quoted on a free-on-board basis, excluding delivery costs.
(sourced Bloomberg)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
South African coal export prices fall to lowest in nearly a year
Wednesday, 16 Nov 2011
According to data on Bloomberg from researcher IHS McCloskey, coal export prices at Richards Bay, South Africa, the continent’s biggest terminal for shipping the fuel, fell to the lowest level in almost a year.
Prices decreased USD 1.83, or 1.7% last week to an average USD 106.30 a metric tonne, the least since November 26th 2010, following a 1.2% decline in the week ended November 4. The price quoted is on a free on board basis, excluding delivery costs.
(Sourced from Bloomberg)
According to data on Bloomberg from researcher IHS McCloskey, coal export prices at Richards Bay, South Africa, the continent’s biggest terminal for shipping the fuel, fell to the lowest level in almost a year.
Prices decreased USD 1.83, or 1.7% last week to an average USD 106.30 a metric tonne, the least since November 26th 2010, following a 1.2% decline in the week ended November 4. The price quoted is on a free on board basis, excluding delivery costs.
(Sourced from Bloomberg)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Steam Coal prices at RBCT dip on Greek decision
Wednesday, 02 Nov 2011
Reuters reported that European prompt physical coal prices fell by around USD 2.00 percent on Tuesday after the Greek decision to call a referendum over its debt bailout revived concerns about the euro zone, pummeling equities, the euro, copper and oil prices.
TRADES
A November loading South African cargo traded at USD 104.75 a tonne FOB Richards Bay, down USD 1.25 from Monday.
Another November South African cargo traded at USD 107.00 for the latter half of the month.
PRICES
A South Africa November Panamax cargo was bid at USD 105.00 and offered at USD 105.00 but could not trade, down USD 1.00.
A December South African cargo was bid at USD 106.50 and offered at USD 108.50, down over USD 2.50 on the bid.
A December DES ARA South African Capesize cargo was bid at USD 117.50 and offered at USD 118.50, down nearly USD 2.00 on the bid.
A November DES ARA Russian cargo was offered at USD 120, having been offered at USD 123.00 and USD 122.00 in the past few days.
Coal as a dollar denominated commodity is sensitive to currency moves. The euro fell against the dollar for a third straight day on Tuesday, as investors rushed to put their money into safer assets.
The fallout from the collapse of broker MF Global Holdings Ltd had little impact on the coal market because MF Global's problems had been flagged a week or more ago and companies with exposure had time to get rid of i.
However, the failure of a large broker, the highest profile victim of the euro debt crisis, is making the coal market, particularly in swaps, even more risk averse than it has been for most of this year.
(Sourced from Reuters)
Reuters reported that European prompt physical coal prices fell by around USD 2.00 percent on Tuesday after the Greek decision to call a referendum over its debt bailout revived concerns about the euro zone, pummeling equities, the euro, copper and oil prices.
TRADES
A November loading South African cargo traded at USD 104.75 a tonne FOB Richards Bay, down USD 1.25 from Monday.
Another November South African cargo traded at USD 107.00 for the latter half of the month.
PRICES
A South Africa November Panamax cargo was bid at USD 105.00 and offered at USD 105.00 but could not trade, down USD 1.00.
A December South African cargo was bid at USD 106.50 and offered at USD 108.50, down over USD 2.50 on the bid.
A December DES ARA South African Capesize cargo was bid at USD 117.50 and offered at USD 118.50, down nearly USD 2.00 on the bid.
A November DES ARA Russian cargo was offered at USD 120, having been offered at USD 123.00 and USD 122.00 in the past few days.
Coal as a dollar denominated commodity is sensitive to currency moves. The euro fell against the dollar for a third straight day on Tuesday, as investors rushed to put their money into safer assets.
The fallout from the collapse of broker MF Global Holdings Ltd had little impact on the coal market because MF Global's problems had been flagged a week or more ago and companies with exposure had time to get rid of i.
However, the failure of a large broker, the highest profile victim of the euro debt crisis, is making the coal market, particularly in swaps, even more risk averse than it has been for most of this year.
(Sourced from Reuters)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Euro Coal-prices rise despite weaker oil
Oct29, 2011
LONDON (Reuters) - European prompt physical coal prices rose slightly on Friday, shrugging off falls in oil and coal swaps.
Physical demand remained thin, because some players with long positions lack the capacity to burn coal and many utilities are burning down their stockpiles before ordering new deliveries.
A December FOB Richards Bay trade was heard at $110.25 a tonne, which was on the upper end of the previous day's bid/offer range of $105/$110.25 a tonne and 65 cents higher than the last heard deal.
Coal futures were also up, with the API2 2012 swaps contract rising to $120 a tonne for the first time since Oct. 13.
Because of the previous downtrend, the 50 exponential daily moving average (DMA) remained below its longer-term 100 and 200 DMAs.
Traders said that strong figures from China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd , the country's largest coal producer and the world's most valuable coal producer, had encouraged the coal market.
Despite its strong figures, Shenhua Energy warned of a slowdown in economic growth, which could drag on energy demand.
The strength came despite a fall in crude oil prices, as traders cashed in on strong rises the previous few sessions.
ICE Brent December crude fell $2.14 to $109.94 a barrel by 1310 GMT, having traded from $109.71 to $112.23.
TRADES
A South African delivery for December was heard at $110.25 a tonne.
PRICES
A South Africa November cargo had a bid at $106 and an offer of $107.50 a tonne.
A December DES ARA cargo was offered at $123.75 a tonne.
(sourced Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) - European prompt physical coal prices rose slightly on Friday, shrugging off falls in oil and coal swaps.
Physical demand remained thin, because some players with long positions lack the capacity to burn coal and many utilities are burning down their stockpiles before ordering new deliveries.
A December FOB Richards Bay trade was heard at $110.25 a tonne, which was on the upper end of the previous day's bid/offer range of $105/$110.25 a tonne and 65 cents higher than the last heard deal.
Coal futures were also up, with the API2 2012 swaps contract rising to $120 a tonne for the first time since Oct. 13.
Because of the previous downtrend, the 50 exponential daily moving average (DMA) remained below its longer-term 100 and 200 DMAs.
Traders said that strong figures from China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd , the country's largest coal producer and the world's most valuable coal producer, had encouraged the coal market.
Despite its strong figures, Shenhua Energy warned of a slowdown in economic growth, which could drag on energy demand.
The strength came despite a fall in crude oil prices, as traders cashed in on strong rises the previous few sessions.
ICE Brent December crude fell $2.14 to $109.94 a barrel by 1310 GMT, having traded from $109.71 to $112.23.
TRADES
A South African delivery for December was heard at $110.25 a tonne.
PRICES
A South Africa November cargo had a bid at $106 and an offer of $107.50 a tonne.
A December DES ARA cargo was offered at $123.75 a tonne.
(sourced Reuters)
Friday, July 29, 2011
Euro Coal-S.African prices creep up again
Fri Jul 29, 2011
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Prompt physical South African coal prices rose by around 50 cents a tonne on Friday, despite a fall of over $2 in oil prices on weak U.S. GDP data, buoyed by expected export disruptions due to the South African miners' strike and calls for greater Chinese coal imports.
Wage talks between the Chamber of Mines and unions representing workers at the major coal mines in South Africa failed, the National Union of Mineworkers said on Thursday.
Fresh talks began on Friday but both sides are far apart on terms.
If the strike continues beyond two weeks, miners will start to exhaust stockpiles at Richards Bay Coal Terminal and at the mines themselves.
This is not expected to have much market impact, however, as key end-users in Europe and India with South African supply contracts can easily absorb delays or cancellations.
"There's not exactly a shortage of coal, quite the opposite and it would be easy to find replacement cargoes," one utility source said.
The strike's impact so far has been more on sentiment and has encouraged some swaps buying which in turn has slightly bolstered physical values.
Oil dropped by over $2 after weak GDP data showed the U.S. economy stumbled in the first half of the year .
Any further pressure on the dollar will further bolster coal prices but raise coal exporters' cash costs, the cost of mining and moving coal to the point of shipment.
Activity in general has remained limited for the past week, due to the seasonal summer lull when coal use is at its lowest in Europe.
Asia had been expected to come to the market's rescue with a resumption of large-scale Indian and Chinese imports of benchmark origin coals such as South African.
This has not happened yet because key Indian buyers who account for more than 70 percent of the country's imports have bought cheaper Indonesian material rather than South African - they are waiting, they say, until prices drop to $110 or even $100 before returning to the market.
China has dipped in and out of the import market for the past six months and it is unclear whether power shortages will prompt more imports or not.
China faces tight power supply during the current scorching summer but shortages have turned out to be less severe than anticipated .
Nevertheless, China's National Development and Reform Commission has urged all relevant parties and regions to raise power supplies and curb unreasonable demand.
"Thermal power plants should proactively purchase thermal coal and increase coal imports," the NDRC said on its website.
To date, this has not translated into fresh buying but there are more enquiries from Chinese buyers being received by coal suppliers, for low to high-grade coal qualities.
TRADES
A September loading South African cargo traded at $118.00 FOB Richards Bay, up 50 cents.
An October DES ARA cargo traded at $125.50, unchanged.
PRICES
A September DES ARA cargo was bid at $124.50, down 75 cents on the bid.
An October DES ARA cargo was bid at $124.90 and offered at $126.00, unchanged.
An August loading South African cargo was bid at $115.00 and offered at $117.75, up $1.00 on the offer.
A September loading South African cargo was bid at $117.25 and offered at $117.75, up around 25 cents.
(sourced Thomson Reuters)
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Prompt physical South African coal prices rose by around 50 cents a tonne on Friday, despite a fall of over $2 in oil prices on weak U.S. GDP data, buoyed by expected export disruptions due to the South African miners' strike and calls for greater Chinese coal imports.
Wage talks between the Chamber of Mines and unions representing workers at the major coal mines in South Africa failed, the National Union of Mineworkers said on Thursday.
Fresh talks began on Friday but both sides are far apart on terms.
If the strike continues beyond two weeks, miners will start to exhaust stockpiles at Richards Bay Coal Terminal and at the mines themselves.
This is not expected to have much market impact, however, as key end-users in Europe and India with South African supply contracts can easily absorb delays or cancellations.
"There's not exactly a shortage of coal, quite the opposite and it would be easy to find replacement cargoes," one utility source said.
The strike's impact so far has been more on sentiment and has encouraged some swaps buying which in turn has slightly bolstered physical values.
Oil dropped by over $2 after weak GDP data showed the U.S. economy stumbled in the first half of the year .
Any further pressure on the dollar will further bolster coal prices but raise coal exporters' cash costs, the cost of mining and moving coal to the point of shipment.
Activity in general has remained limited for the past week, due to the seasonal summer lull when coal use is at its lowest in Europe.
Asia had been expected to come to the market's rescue with a resumption of large-scale Indian and Chinese imports of benchmark origin coals such as South African.
This has not happened yet because key Indian buyers who account for more than 70 percent of the country's imports have bought cheaper Indonesian material rather than South African - they are waiting, they say, until prices drop to $110 or even $100 before returning to the market.
China has dipped in and out of the import market for the past six months and it is unclear whether power shortages will prompt more imports or not.
China faces tight power supply during the current scorching summer but shortages have turned out to be less severe than anticipated .
Nevertheless, China's National Development and Reform Commission has urged all relevant parties and regions to raise power supplies and curb unreasonable demand.
"Thermal power plants should proactively purchase thermal coal and increase coal imports," the NDRC said on its website.
To date, this has not translated into fresh buying but there are more enquiries from Chinese buyers being received by coal suppliers, for low to high-grade coal qualities.
TRADES
A September loading South African cargo traded at $118.00 FOB Richards Bay, up 50 cents.
An October DES ARA cargo traded at $125.50, unchanged.
PRICES
A September DES ARA cargo was bid at $124.50, down 75 cents on the bid.
An October DES ARA cargo was bid at $124.90 and offered at $126.00, unchanged.
An August loading South African cargo was bid at $115.00 and offered at $117.75, up $1.00 on the offer.
A September loading South African cargo was bid at $117.25 and offered at $117.75, up around 25 cents.
(sourced Thomson Reuters)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Euro Coal-Rebounds $2 on strong oil, gas
Mar 31, 2011 4:38pm GMT
* No fresh trades reported
* Bids, offers remain specific, blocking trade
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Prompt European physical coal prices rebounded by around $2.00 on Thursday in line with stronger oil and gas prices.
Oil prices rose by over $2 on Thursday, touching $117.70 a barrel as Middle East supply worries led concerns [O/R].
Gas prices will stay under pressure for the balance of the year due to the amount of Liquified Natural Gas arriving in Europe but gas will also respond to rises in the general energy complex, as was the case on Thursday, traders said.
Both bids and offers were again very specific with certain origins and ports only.
"You have to wonder if anybody wants to actually trade or are they putting numbers out there which they know aren't going to be hit," one trader said.
End-user demand in Europe has been limited this week and tends to be so at this time of year as utilities begin switching into gas from coal-fired generation.
But there are so many opposing factors operating on coal prices at present that a lack of demand alone is not enough to pull coal lower, traders said.
Fundamental oversupply in the Atlantic and the Pacific (until Japan starts buying again) ought to trim FOB Newcastle spot prices and pull down FOB Richards Bay South African prices, traders and utilities said, but losses could be reversed by factors which have nothing to do with physical supply and demand.
"We're not super-bearish but it's normal for prices to drift a bit lower at this time of the year and I don't see a large number of end-user sellers out there," one large European trader said.
"The dollar could move sharply, oil could spike again - and gas is actually stronger today despite all the LNG coming to Europe," he added.
"Go figure, there are all these bearish LNG stories and the market's rallied more than $1.50 on the back of oil," another European trader said.
Two lines were closed by a derailment on Wednesday on the railway to Richards Bay Coal Terminal but the tonnage lost was unknown, industry sources said.
Rail operator Transnet Freight Rail said one of the closed lines will reopen on Friday.
A series of derailments resulted in a loss of around 3 million tonnes in December-February, exporter sources said.
South African coal has been predominantly shipped to Asia rather than Europe so the tonnage lost would tighten supply there, if anywhere, traders said.
TRADES
Two June loading Newcastle parcels traded at $119.25 a tonne on globalCOAL, down $1.00.
A June delivery DES ARA cargo traded at $125.05 a tonne via brokers, also down $1.00.
PRICES
A June delivery ARA cargo was bid at $127.25 and offered at $127.50, up $2.00.
A May DES ARA cargo was bid at $126.75 and offered earlier at $126.50, up nearly $2.00.
There had been a June ARA bid earlier on Thursday at $127.50 a tonne for 50,000 tonnes of South African only.
A May loading South African cargo was bid at $121.00 and offered at $121.75, up $2.00.
A June cargo was bid at $119.00, unchanged.
(Reporting by Jackie Cowhig)
* No fresh trades reported
* Bids, offers remain specific, blocking trade
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Prompt European physical coal prices rebounded by around $2.00 on Thursday in line with stronger oil and gas prices.
Oil prices rose by over $2 on Thursday, touching $117.70 a barrel as Middle East supply worries led concerns [O/R].
Gas prices will stay under pressure for the balance of the year due to the amount of Liquified Natural Gas arriving in Europe but gas will also respond to rises in the general energy complex, as was the case on Thursday, traders said.
Both bids and offers were again very specific with certain origins and ports only.
"You have to wonder if anybody wants to actually trade or are they putting numbers out there which they know aren't going to be hit," one trader said.
End-user demand in Europe has been limited this week and tends to be so at this time of year as utilities begin switching into gas from coal-fired generation.
But there are so many opposing factors operating on coal prices at present that a lack of demand alone is not enough to pull coal lower, traders said.
Fundamental oversupply in the Atlantic and the Pacific (until Japan starts buying again) ought to trim FOB Newcastle spot prices and pull down FOB Richards Bay South African prices, traders and utilities said, but losses could be reversed by factors which have nothing to do with physical supply and demand.
"We're not super-bearish but it's normal for prices to drift a bit lower at this time of the year and I don't see a large number of end-user sellers out there," one large European trader said.
"The dollar could move sharply, oil could spike again - and gas is actually stronger today despite all the LNG coming to Europe," he added.
"Go figure, there are all these bearish LNG stories and the market's rallied more than $1.50 on the back of oil," another European trader said.
Two lines were closed by a derailment on Wednesday on the railway to Richards Bay Coal Terminal but the tonnage lost was unknown, industry sources said.
Rail operator Transnet Freight Rail said one of the closed lines will reopen on Friday.
A series of derailments resulted in a loss of around 3 million tonnes in December-February, exporter sources said.
South African coal has been predominantly shipped to Asia rather than Europe so the tonnage lost would tighten supply there, if anywhere, traders said.
TRADES
Two June loading Newcastle parcels traded at $119.25 a tonne on globalCOAL, down $1.00.
A June delivery DES ARA cargo traded at $125.05 a tonne via brokers, also down $1.00.
PRICES
A June delivery ARA cargo was bid at $127.25 and offered at $127.50, up $2.00.
A May DES ARA cargo was bid at $126.75 and offered earlier at $126.50, up nearly $2.00.
There had been a June ARA bid earlier on Thursday at $127.50 a tonne for 50,000 tonnes of South African only.
A May loading South African cargo was bid at $121.00 and offered at $121.75, up $2.00.
A June cargo was bid at $119.00, unchanged.
(Reporting by Jackie Cowhig)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
South Africa coal price fall draws out Indian buying
Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:41pm GMT
LONDON (Reuters) - A fall in South African thermal coal prices to $113 a tonne this week has started to draw out Indian buyers who have been sidelined since November, Indian traders said on Thursday.
Spot coal prices topped $120 a tonne in December from $90 in October on strong Chinese spot imports and spiked again in January after disastrous Australian floods.
During this period, Indian end-users stayed firmly out of the market and relied on stockpiles, deliveries of term contract coal and cheaper coal from Indonesia instead.
India's share of South Africa's coal exports has risen from almost nothing five years ago to an average of 30 percent a month.
The participation of these buyers and the Indian traders who supply them is also a crucial element of the global spot market - their withdrawal usually triggers a fall in prices but panic-buying and bullish sentiment was overwhelming last month.
"At these prices of around $113, $114 a tonne FOB Richards Bay some more people are looking to buy South African coal now, it's not a bad price," one of India's biggest trader importers said.
"Between December and February there were no physical demand reasons for prices to up $24 and then down $20, it was all artificial," he said.
India's Binani Cement Ltd this week bought a March loading South African cargo at $114 a tonne FOB, traders said.
A few of the smaller to medium-sized cement makers are likely to issue tenders now to take advantage of falling coal prices and extremely weak freight, traders said.
Indian end-users tend to focus on the delivered cost of coal and their trader suppliers are constantly comparing the cost plus freight of South African versus Indonesian coal.
There had been some fairly active re-selling of South African cargoes back to the original suppliers in January by Indian traders who replaced these cargoes with Indonesian material but this has dried up now, Indian traders said.
"We did see some of that last month but nothing much now," one South African producer said.
"It did make sense to take cheaper Indonesian. The freight was also more stable but current South African prices are not bad and the market looks like it's going to fall further anyway," another Indian trader said.
South African coal is preferred by many Indian end-users in the sponge iron and cement sectors for its consistent quality but because the market is so price-driven, consumers will switch quickly if delivered costs rise to unacceptable levels.
Prices are expected to come under further downward pressure as Indonesian exports start to flow again following confusion over export licences.
Around 3.5 million tonnes of mostly low-grade coal was held up but this is starting to move again.(sourced:Thomson Reuters)
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