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Coal Prices Expected to Fall Further |
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Friday, 01 June 2012 11:43 |
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Japanese coal companies recently settled their 2012 benchmark prices at US$115/metric ton (mt), a fall of 11% on the 2011 price of US$129.85/mt. According to The Herald, ‘spot,’ or one-off, sales of Hunter coal have struggled to make US$105/mt and analysts expect the falls to continue.
The latest edition of the Australian Coal Report said thermal coal from South Africa’s Richards Bay terminal was about to dip below US$100. A leading indicator of Hunter coal prices, the Global Coal Newcastle index, was at US$102.95. So far this year, Japanese customers have bought 55% of the coal shipped from Newcastle; China 15% and South Korea 10%. |
