Argus/McCloskey's API 2

What is the API 2^® coal price index?

The API 2 index is the primary price reference for physical and over-the-counter coal contracts in northwest Europe. Around 90pc of the world’s coal derivatives are priced against the Argus/ McCloskey's API 2^® and API 4^® price assessments.

The API 2 index is an average of the Argus cif ARA assessment and the McCloskey Northwest Europe Steam Coal marker. The index is published in the Argus/McCloskey’s Coal Price Index Report and includes daily, weekly and monthly average prices. Daily price assessments are also available as a data feed. The Argus component of the API 2 index is published in Argus Coal Daily International.

How is this assessment used?

World coal markets use the API 2 price assessment for supply agreements, risk management, hedging, analysis and more. The API 2 price assessment is the world’s most referenced price of coal and forms the settlement basis for the world’s most liquid and successful coal futures and options.

What is the API price series?

The API indexes represent the price of liquid, physical coal benchmarks at key geographical pricing hubs, such as cif ARA (API 2^® index), and fob Richards Bay (API 4^® index), according to the API specifications. These specifications standardise the assessment around key criteria relating to contract basis, location, and energy value.

The API indexes provide transparency and visibility in the coal spot market and are widely used across the globe as a pricing basis for physical purchases and sales. The API series includes the API 2, API 3, API 4, API 5, API 6, API 8, API 10 and API 12 indexes. These indexes are published in the Argus/McCloskey’s Coal Price Index Report on a weekly basis on the last London working day of the week, usually a Friday.