* China, India remain sidelined
* Rupee weakness vs. dollar slows buying
LONDON Jan 3 (Reuters) – Physical prompt coal markets
began 2012 subdued, with no fresh trades reported, while prices
drifted $1.00 a tonne lower with European power prices and EU
carbon.
The price fall did little to encourage trade because there
is sufficient spot coal in the Pacific and Atlantic and
end-users in China, India and Europe are waiting to see if the
price fall predicted last month will materialise before buying.
Indian buyers, in particular, are holding out for lower
prices because the rupee’s fall to a record low in November
against the U.S. dollar has inflated the prices paid in rupees
by end-users to an untenable level, traders said.
Although the price of low to medium-grade Indonesian coal,
which accounts for most of India’s imports, has fallen from
year-ago levels, the price in rupees has risen faster by 7
percent, they said.
“Everybody’s back at their desks now but nobody wants to do
anything. There are bids and offers but still no real appetite
to trade,” one European trader said.
Buying in Europe remains minimal and stocks relatively high.
Oil prices rose above $111 a barrel on Tuesday as tension
between Iran and the U.S. stirred fear of a possible disruption
to oil supplies from the Middle East and Chinese and U.S. data
showed improved economic activity.
Continued…
