Russian coal meets rising demand in Asia

Russian spot prices in Asia-Pacific were up last week, amid growing demand and new sales in the region. Spot prices for Russian NAR 6,000 kcal/kg coal shipped to Asia-Pacific increased by 3pc on the week to $79.10/t fob Vostochny, reaching the highest since the beginning of April.

Traders offered Russian material on a fob Vostochny basis at around $80/t for high-grade coal, while some Russian miners were even more optimistic — lifting their offers for high-grade coal to $83-88/t on a fob basis, a market participant said.

Russian coal's lower sulphur content, as well as low price values, continued to lend a competitive advantage in South Korea. A trading company sold 80,000t of Russian coal to a South Korean utility on a cfr NAR 6,080 kcal/kg basis for delivery in July. Separately, Russian coal was offered under several South Korean tenders that closed last week and the results are awaited.

Russian high-grade coal prices in Europe slightly declined last week amid ample supply in the European market. Coal burn is rising in Germany, driven by stronger power demand and lower generation from renewables that resulted in lowering of the coal stockpiles at the four main ARA terminals. But more demand from utilities is not enough to lend notable support for coal prices in the European market.

Find more news, price information and market analysis on Russian coal exports in Argus Russian Coal report.