TSI’s free-on-board, September spot average for East Coast Australian premium hard coking coal was $US149.67 a tonne – a 7.4% gain from August.
Its spot average for East Coast hard coking coal was $135.06/t FOB, or 8.3% higher than the previous month.
The price recovery was attributed to steel mill restocking activity, especially in the first two weeks of September.
Despite a supply squeeze in these commodities, TSI said there was not a big impact due to sluggish demand in the finished steel products market.
China is particularly affected. Chinese data revealed its imports of Australian coking coal fell by 6% month-on-month for August.
TSI expects Southeast Asian spot demand for Australian coking coal to return this month as “most mills” restock inventory for the year’s end.
