Reuters reported that physical thermal coal prices were little changed again on Friday at around USD 90 a tonne, a level many players consider to be high given the dearth of spot demand globally.
PRICES
An October South African cargo was bid at USD 87.00 and offered at USD 87.25, down 25 cents for the second day running.
A November South African cargo was bid at USD 88.00 and offered at USD 88.75, also down around 25 cents.
An October DES ARA cargo was offered at USD 91, unchanged.
A November DES ARA cargo was bid at USD 88.00 and offered at USD 92.50, down nearly USD 5 on the bid and USD 2 on the offer
TRADES
An October DES ARA cargo traded at USD 87.05 for 150,000 tonnes, little changed from Thursday's levels.
Two November delivery DES ARA cargoes traded at USD 92.50 and USD 92.35, down 30-50 cents.
Spot prices slid to two year lows in June and have partially recovered since then but the discounts to index prices sought have deepened from USD 1 to USD 2 below the API2 index to USD 5 to USD 7
The level of discounts or premiums in dollars a tonne to fixed, index prices can be a more accurate measure of the strength of the market than fixed prices, which are often stagnant and range bound.
The market remains split over the outlook for the balance of the year, with the cautious bulls predicting a resumption of Chinese imports following China's green light for USD 150 billion of infrastructure projects to stimulate its slowing economy.
