Resilient Chinese demand and globally tight nsupply meant that many Asian steelmakers nwould still pay April to June 2011 contract nprices for spot cargoes of certain brands of npremium hard coking coal, market sources nsaid Tuesday. In a largely illiquid market, nthis lifted Platts Peak Downs Region by n$3/mt to $326/mt FOB Australia, and nPremium Low Vol by $2/mt to $322/mt. nSeveral large North Asian steelmakers nthought it quite possible that if BHP Billiton nMitsubishi-Alliance were to offer Peak nDowns or Saraji on the spot market, that nthey could sell at the current contract level nof $330/mt FOB, given the tight market nconditions. “Yes it is possible. That type nof coal has very limited supply,” one North nAsian mill source said, a belief echoed nby several other large steel producers in nthe region. “The market could probably be nsustained at a high level,” one other mill nsource commented. This comes at a time nof resurgent Chinese interest for this type nof coal, with several Chinese mills keen nto secure new supply. “The Chinese have nbegun to buy, and people [in China] who nwere selling two weeks ago are now looking nto buy,” one trader commented. There was ntalk of two transactions for top BMA brands ninto China in the last few days at close to n$330/mt FOB, but the deals could not be nverified.
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