* U.S. coal sold to India at $101-110/T CIF
* Prompt S.African keeps premium but prices dip
LONDON Feb 28 (Reuters) – Prompt physical coal prices
fell by around $1.00 a tonne on Tuesday in line with an earlier
dip in oil and pressured by oversupply, particularly in Europe.
Front month March loading South African coal was bid at
$104.00 a tonne FOB Richards Bay, keeping a slim premium over
April and May cargoes but $1.00 lower than the previous day.
Brent crude futures slipped towards $123 a barrel as
investors worried about high prices hitting demand.
But the overhang of unwanted coal cargoes of every origin is
also weighing on prices and will continue to do so until Asian
demand revives.
“You can easily find all sorts of coal, every origin is
available and U.S. material is being offered by traders, utility
traders and producers directly – there’s still too much coal,” a
source at a major European utility said.
U.S. thermal coal with a sulphur content of anywhere from 1
percent to 4 percent is still flowing to Europe but sellers are
also having to look at new markets in India and Turkey
.
Indian traders said they have been offered and bought U.S.
coal with around 3 percent sulphur at $101-110 a tonne CIF
India, which nets back to $60-65/T FOB – a level below most
producers’ cash costs.
Continued…
