Atlantic coking coal: Prices hold, China demand softens

Spanish Market: Coking coal, Metals
11/03/20

US coking coal prices that have already been slow to follow the rally in Australian prices in recent weeks are largely holding steady, despite lower demand in China that is starting to chip away at recent price gains in Asia-Pacific.

The daily Argus fob Hampton Roads assessment for low-volatile coking coal is flat today, at $139/t, but slightly lower than last week. The daily assessed high-volatile type A price today is unchanged at $140/t fob Hampton Roads, while the daily high-volatile type B price has remained stable since last week at $129.50/t fob Hampton Roads.

Despite heavy rains and challenging sea conditions in Queensland disrupting exports out of Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point, low demand in north Asia resulting from steel production capacity cuts and uncertainty over how quickly Chinese industries will resume full operations has weighed on prices in Asia-Pacific. But the current $20/t price differential between Australia premium low-volatile coals and US high-volatile A coals continues to make a case for Chinese mills to consider US high-volatile coals in their blends. Expectations of narrowing steel production margins in the medium term, when Chinese mills are able to enter the market fully to shift their high inventories, will also put costs high on many mills' agendas.

Some US mining companies also believe their prices, which have sat out the recent rally in Asia-Pacific, are due for an increase, on the back of new demand from China.

Sentiment among US mining firms remains strong, as several producers and trading firms reveal they are in discussions with Chinese buyers or are finalising sales for the second quarter. "We should be selling five to six cargoes towards the end of the second quarter, and our competitors as well," one mining company said.

Last week, Chinese mills started receiving tariff exemptions on US coal and market participants expect more approvals to be granted to trading companies eventually.

A US mining firm that has reconnected with former Chinese customers that have been applying for tariff exemptions is also confident that these exemptions will be granted, paving the way for more spot shipments to China later this year.

Sentiment in Europe continues to be gloomy regarding spot prospects, but mills have closed or are closing discussions for 2020 term volumes that will start shipping in April. A Mediterranean mill requires 70,000t of high-volatile coking coal to be delivered in late April or May.

While improved demand in the Atlantic basin supported shipping rates last week, fixing activity has slowed early this week amid uncertainty in the Brent crude and equity markets at the start of this week. But rates are starting to pick up again today, with the coal Panamax rate for US east coast-Rotterdam edging up to about $10/t from $9.25/t last week.

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13/05/25

ISTA blasts 'ludicrous' Tata Steel UK assertion to TRA

London, 13 May (Argus) — Tata Steel UK's claim to the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) that 2m-wide hot-rolled coil (HRC) could be bought for slitting is "ludicrous", according to the International Steel Trade Association (ISTA). In a submission to the TRA as part of its safeguard review, Tata said that if 2m-wide material, which it does not produce, is removed from the safeguard, it would be bought and slit, meaning it is no different from the material produced by Tata . But ISTA said 2m-wide HRC is a "significant part" of the yellow goods market and is used by companies such as JCB, Caterpillar and Liebherr for earth-moving, construction and agricultural equipment. It is also used in pipe and tube production and does not constitute a small proportion of the overall market, as suggested by Tata, ISTA said. The material must be imported as it is not manufactured in the UK and carries a premium over speed-stock widths produced by Tata. "For Tata Steel, who import volumes of this width themselves, to suggest that wider coil is ‘often imported only to be slit to narrower cuts' is ludicrous," ISTA said, arguing that there are "almost no" slitting lines in the UK that are capable of slitting 2m-wide material. The lines that do exist typically slit hot-dip galvanised (HDG) rather than HRC, Argus understands. Importers have also questioned the economic rationale of Tata's assertion that if higher-yield HDG is removed from the safeguard, importers would buy it and use it to compete with more commoditised grades produced by Tata. Higher-yield material carries a premium, and it would make no economic sense to pay it and then compete in the commodity market, trading firms told Argus . The TRA, which is expected to announce its provisional findings this week, is widely anticipated to propose caps on the quota for other countries' HDG. Importers told Argus that they were surprised by the aggressive tone of Tata's rebuttal to claims fielded by importers about material that it does not produce being excluded from the safeguard. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

India’s Vedanta expands metals exploration

13/05/25

India’s Vedanta expands metals exploration

Mumbai, 13 May (Argus) — Indian private-sector mining firm Vedanta is exploring critical mineral assets in six states as it looks to strengthen its position in the fast-growing clean energy value chain. Vedanta is exploring for copper, nickel, cobalt, chromium, vanadium, tungsten and platinum-group elements (PGEs) in states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh supported by India's policy push for mineral security , it said on 10 May. Vedanta secured four mineral blocks in the fourth round of India's critical mineral auctions. It won a vanadium and graphite block in Arunachal Pradesh and a cobalt, manganese, and iron (polymetallic) block in Karnataka. Its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc (HZL) was awarded one tungsten block in Andhra Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu. The company is expanding its value-added aluminium products capacity in billets, primary foundry alloys, rolled products and wire rods. Aluminium billets are used in the aerospace, defence and solar power sectors, while aluminium rolled products are used in high-speed railways, electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and battery enclosures. HZL is exploring uses for zinc beyond galvanizing steel to protect it from rust, which currently accounts for over 60pc of global zinc demand. It has entered the zinc alloy sector with a 30,000t plant and plans to significantly increase the share of value-added products in its aluminium portfolio to over 90pc in the near term. Vedanta's board earlier this year approved an investment of about $1.5bn to expand its aluminium capacity, including an expansion at its smelter in Orisha to increase production, as well as increased value-added product capacity at its flagship aluminium plants. By Deepika Singh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia’s Macquarie unwinds coking coal funding ban

13/05/25

Australia’s Macquarie unwinds coking coal funding ban

Sydney, 13 May (Argus) — Australian investment bank Macquarie has changed its investment rules to fund coking coal mines, in a partial reversal of its 2021 coal financing ban. The bank made the change in November 2024, it said in its annual report for the year ended 31 March, released last week. It will now make short-term funding deals lasting less than 12 months for coking coal developments, to help producers buy, expand, or run coking coal mines. Macquarie's rule change still bans long-term investments in coking coal projects. There are few viable alternatives to coking coal for the steel and industrial sectors, Macquarie said. The company has maintained its ban on thermal coal financing, apart from specific emissions reduction projects. It is also working on supporting emissions reduction projects in the Australian oil and gas sectors, although it did not disclose which projects. Macquarie is not the only bank moving away from fossil fuel financing. Australian bank ANZ will stop lending capital to companies heavily involved in the thermal coal sector by 2030. It reduced its lending to thermal coal mining firms by 85pc between 2015 and July 2024,it said in July last year. It also stopped [funding new upstream oil and gas projects](https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2566501), with limited exceptions, in May 2024. Macquarie has expanded its climate finance role over recent years. The bank set up a renewable energy business to fund utility-scale projects in Australia and New Zealand in November 2023. Macquarie is also involved in carbon markets. The company is continuing to help clients with compliance and voluntary carbon markets, including in newer locations like China, the company said, without disclosing further details. It has also purchased and retired 59,164t of CO2 equivalent of Australian Carbon Credit Units and other voluntary offsets to cover business travel in its 2024-25 financial year ended 31 March. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Russia urges decision on Bolivia Li deal

12/05/25

Russia urges decision on Bolivia Li deal

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Tata UK lambasts importers' TRA submissions

12/05/25

Tata UK lambasts importers' TRA submissions

London, 12 May (Argus) — Claims by the International Steel Trade Association and importers in the Trade Remedies Authority's (TRA) safeguard review are "factually incorrect", Tata Steel UK has said Importers have stated — accurately — that Tata does not produce 2m-wide hot-rolled coil, or material with a tensile strength of over 500 megapascal, so these products should not be under the scope of the safeguard. In a rebuttal submission released by the TRA today, Tata said such specifications "constitute a small proportion of the overall market", and that current quotas are more than sufficient to provide import choice. Should these grades be excluded from the safeguard, Tata — which is effectively a re-roller until its electric arc furnace becomes operational — said importers could circumvent the safeguard, importing higher grades "at much lower prices" to compete with material produced and sold by Tata. Tata said wider coil is "often imported only to be slit into narrower cuts", meaning it is not fundamentally different from material it sells domestically. Some applications do require decoiled 2m-wide material, but Tata suggests this is a small proportion of the overall market. No end-users have raised concerns regarding supply of such material, Tata said, adding that sufficient tonnes could be imported from the EU or Turkey, origins with quotas that are "consistently underutilised quarter after quarter". Buyers just want such products to be excluded so they can "access significantly lower-priced imports", it said. Tata has requested quotas be amended in line with the demand reduction seen in recent years, and that caps are implemented on other countries' quota for hot-dip galvanised. Should a cap of 25pc be imposed, which is what the market anticipates, some traders said material currently on route to the UK could still be clearing in January 2026. The TRA is expected to release its initial findings this week. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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