LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) – Prices for prompt physical coal
deliveries remained little changed on Monday, but were expected
to come under downward pressure from ample supply and reduced
European demand at the end of the winter heating season.
“The increasing pressure from growing inventory levels
suggests that at some point, (South African) Richards Bay
benchmarks will have to start shedding some value … (and) with
the effects from the (Australian) flood easing now, Newcastle
FOB is likely to price itself lower and this could further put
pressure on those Richards Bay prices,” Barclays Capital said in
a research note.
In swaps trading, the API2 2013 futures contract continued
its recent downward trend, trading around $113.20 a tonne on
Monday.
The contract has been falling since late August 2011, when
it was trading above $133.
PRICES
A May DES ARA cargo traded at $96.76 per tonne, according to
GLOBALcoal data, and a June contract saw a bid-offer range of
$96.75-$98.
A May South African cargo saw a bid-offer range of
$102.60-$103.75 a tonne.
(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; editing by James Jukwey)
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