* Feb S.African cargo trades at $106.25
* Colombian rains delay exports by 2 wks
LONDON Jan 5 (Reuters) – South African physical
prompt coal bids rose by around $1.00 a tonne percent on
Thursday as buyers began to emerge after the end-year holiday
hiatus.
Delays of two weeks to Colombian coal shipments by Drummond
and Prodeco, two of the the country’s biggest exporters, were a
minor price-supporting factor which could turn into a more
significant influence if the rains persist, traders and
utilities said.
Drummond and Prodeco’s mines in the north of the country
where rainfall has been heaviest are neighbouring but Colombia’s
biggest exporter, Cerrejon, is seeing delays of only 2-3 days on
average and met its 2011 export target of 32 million tonnes.
“Drummond is seeing the worst delays of around two weeks,
Prodeco almost as bad but even though Prodeco’s coal is
high-grade and some is specialist pulverised coal for
steelmaking, it is important and it does matter to the market,”
one European utility source said.
In the European DES ARA market, a few more players were
seeking February and March delivery cargoes but there was more
interest in January loading South African cargoes.
Some Indian buyers enquired about Q1 cargoes FOB Richards
Bay, partly concerned by indications from Indonesia that an
export take on low energy content coal will be imposed this
year, ahead of a proposed ban on low energy coal exports in 2014
.
But traders also bid for and bought January Richards Bay
cargoes, some to cover short positions, others because the very
prompt market looked strong, although this could fizzle out
quickly.
Continued…
