Market overview from globalCoal for December 19

Unsurprisingly we saw a very quiet start to the last week of trading before the Christmas holidays. With many participants absent already and the desire to get trades going limited prior to the year-end, both paper and physical markets were extremely quiet. Outside factors also failed to provide impetus with Brent only gaining ~$0.30/bbl whilst the Euro again saw a very slim appreciation against the US$. Coal markets generally saw pricing edge lower on the day by ~0.20.

During Asian trading hours, phys newc prices edged up slightly amid a tight market. A January cargo was bid at $110/mt but the only offers came in March at $111/$111.25. There were also interest in the floating price market, with offers for Q2,3 and 4 at a premium of $0.50/mt. In all, market is relatively quiet as demand from China and Indian remains weak and market participants wind down for the festive period. (*)