* June ARA bid at $82.25/T with no offer
* Chinese utilities default on domestic coal sales
* Formosa Plastics seeks further shipment deferrals
By Jacqueline Cowhig
LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) – European prompt physical coal
prices were 25 cents to $1.00 lower on Tuesday although no fresh
trades were done.
Most market participants, whether engaged in price
re-negotiations with China or simply anxious about the imminence
of another price slide, were sidelined or waiting for clearer
direction.
A June delivery DES ARA cargo was bid at $82.25 a tonne,
down around 25 cents from Thursday’s levels but over $1.00 below
the most recent ARA trade.
The market’s sentiment remains weak due to oversupply
weighing on prices and growing concern over Chinese buyers’
re-negotiation of contracts for spot purchases.
A trade earlier in the week at $83.50 for a prompt DES ARA
cargo was seen as an attempt to show a price floor, traders
said.
Continued…
