Argus/McCloskey's API 8
Overview
The API 8 price assessment is the benchmark price reference for the import market in China, the world’s largest coal consumer. It assesses prices for coal imported to southern China and averages the two most referenced price assessments for imports in the region — Argus and McCloskey's.
Price assessment details
What are the advantages of the Argus API 8 coal price assessment?
The API 8 price assessment joins our other global coal price assessments in providing a global benchmark for coal trading. It is calculated as an average of the Argus 5,500 kcal/kg cfr south China price assessment and the IHS McCloskey/Xinhua Infolink south China marker, and is used to settle physical coal sales agreements, swaps used for hedging deals and for futures contracts on world exchanges.
API prices are published every Friday in the Argus/McCloskey’s Coal Price Index Report service, which provides daily, weekly and monthly average price assessments for South Africa and the other major coal trading hubs globally.
How is this assessment used?
Coal buyers and sellers use the API 8 price assessment to settle coal supply agreements and hedge price risk through swaps and futures market activity. Banks, brokers and other financial participants use the API 8 price assessment to construct those swaps.
Futures exchanges use the API 8 price assessment to settle cash-basis futures contracts. Analysts and market observers keep a close eye on the API 8 price assessment for data on market fundamentals in China’s manufacturing and power generation sectors.
Explore our products
Argus’ coal market services provide globally trusted price benchmarks, high-quality market intelligence and in-depth data analytics on a real-time basis to support you in making more informed decisions. Our global indexes include key prices such as ICI 3, ICI 4, API 2, API 4, API 5, API 6, API 8, API 10, API 12 and Richards Bay off-specification differentials.
Key price assessments
Argus’ coal price benchmarks are recognised by the market as trusted and reliable indicators of the real market value. Explore some of our most widely used and relevant price assessments.
