Of the new product line, the ASX says it will provide the first exchange and clearing house mechanism for thermal coal in the Asia Pacific that operates independently of editorial index providers and intermediaries in the over-the-counter market.

“Independence from editorial indices and prices derived from the OTC market will underpin the robustness and sustainability of ASX’s thermal coal product offering,” ASX said.

Currently the globalCOAL NEWC index is the standard for Newcastle thermal coal prices and is updated weekly every Monday on globalCOAL’s website.

A briefing pack on the new thermal coal futures and options is available on the ASX website.