LONDON Nov 2 (Reuters) – Prompt South African coal prices
eased below the $81 per tonne mark on Friday amid few signs of
demand in an oversupplied market.
One January-loading South African cargo traded today at
$80.95 a tonne FOB, down 5 cents from the previous day’s deal
level as sellers continued to outnumber buyers.
Australia’s thermal coal price benchmark dropped to around
$82 per tonne this week, down from over $84 per tonne last week,
with Chinese buyers continuing to be relatively well-stocked
ahead of winter.
South African producers, which have take-or-pay contracts to
move coal by rail to Richards Bay Coal Terminal, every year tend
to push exports through at maximum capacity until the end of
December, adding to the glut weighing down prices.
Exports this year are expected to reach 70 million tonnes as
a result of efficiency improvements and capacity expansion by
state rail operator Transnet.
But producers have limited exports due to depressed
international prices, the head of Transnet’s freight rail unit
said on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic; editing by Jason Neely)
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