* Few trades reported, variety of coal offered
* March S.African trades at $105.25/T, up 50c
LONDON Feb 15 (Reuters) – Utilities and traders
continued to offer a variety of coal origins for prompt delivery
into Europe, but coal prices moved up by 25-50 cents on
Wednesday in line with rises in oil, power and gas.
Russian, Colombian and U.S. coal cargoes were offered and
although the bid/offer spreads were fairly narrow, few trades
were reported.
DES ARA coal prices had dropped below $100.00 a tonne
despite the recent freezing weather after a slew of offers
earlier this week as utilities tried to shed cargoes they did
not need.
The recent freeze came too late to make enough of a dent in
stockpiles in ARA and at power plants – after the warmest winter
for 30 years, utilities said.
China’s withdrawal from the spot market was more of a
crucial factor in driving prices lower, end-users and producers
said, but the warm winter exacerbated the oversupply, which
would have otherwise been mostly absorbed by China.
“Power and gas rose, oil hit a six-month high so coal
followed but only by a matter of cents, there’s still a lot of
coal around,” one European trader said. [ID:nL5E8DF1T9
Oil rose close to $120 a barrel as concern about supply
from Iran, other Middle East producers and Africa outweighed
those about the health of the global economy.
Continued…
