Steel First launches four daily benchmark coking coal indices
Steel First announces the launch of four new daily reference prices for the physical coking coal market.
The new reference prices for Premium Hard Coking Coal on a CFR Jingtang, China and FOB DBCT, Australia basis and Hard Coking Coal on a CFR Jingtang, China and FOB DBCT, Australia basis are daily reference prices for the coking coal spot market.
Chinese demand continues to drive seaborne coking coal market growth, with volumes expected to grow by around 13% in 2013. Miners are selling an ever-increasing proportion of their coking coal tonnes onto the spot market in response to price volatility.
“This suite of indices is being launched as a direct response to requests for daily coking coal reference prices from major producers and consumers after almost a year of testing and market consultation on specifications,” Steel First editor Vera Blei said. “We also see a growing interest in hedging tools in coking coal as ferrous market participants look to manage price risk across the complex.“
Each Steel First coking coal index is a tonnage-weighted calculation of actual transactions that have been normalised to a base specification using the value-in-use for different materials.
The prices are normalised to the base specifications using an in-house developed model based on the value-in-use applied by the market to different brands and grades of coking coals.
The indices utilize transaction data from a broad spectrum of industry participants and widespread contact base of coking coal producers, traders and steelmakers.
On Friday November 1 the indices closed at:
Premium Hard Coking Coal CFR Jintang $158.30 per tonne
Hard Coking Coal CFR Jingtang $144.39 per tonne
Premium Hard Coking Coal FOB DBCT $144.58 per tonne
Hard Coking Coal FOB DBCT $131.04 per tonne
“We are delighted to build on our established and leading index methodology with the launch of the new suite of coking coal indices in addition to the strong portfolio of prices already being published by Steel First for this market,” Raju Daswani, managing director – Metal Bulletin, said.
For details of the methodology and specifications of the coking coal indices please visit: http://www.steelfirst.com/Methodology.html.
About Steel First and Metal Bulletin
Steel First, part of Metal Bulletin, is an online, global news and pricing service for the steel industry, covering raw materials, steel products and end-user industries. Steel First publishes pricing information for over 250 steel products and raw materials, including coking coal and iron ore. For more information visit www.steelfirst.com.
Metal Bulletin is the established leader in metals and minerals reporting. It has been reporting on steel markets and steelmaking raw materials, including iron ore, coking coal and ferrous scrap, since the first print issue of the magazine was published in May 1913.
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