* Two Nov S.African cargoes trade at $84.65, $84.50/T
* Range-bound prices dissuade trade – again
* Strong Europe demand countered by disappointing Asia
LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Prompt physical coal prices were
little changed to slightly lower on Monday despite a rise in oil
after better than expected U.S. manufacturing data.
Oil rose above $113 a barrel as the U.S. data offset fresh
signs of weakness in China and Japan and evidence of a new
recession in the euro zone.
Few trades took place on Monday because end-users in India
are waiting for lower prices, China is buying limited fresh
cargoes of low-grade material and the recent lack of price
movement makes this market unappealing to traders.
“There’s nothing happening and nobody wants to or needs to
do anything,” one European trader said.
The lack of price movement recently has also dissuaded
players from trading because it is difficult to make more than a
slim margin in stagnant markets which remain range-bound for
several weeks at a time.
European utilities should start buying spot tonnages for Q4
and Q1 in the next few weeks but this is unlikely to make a
difference to prices – Europe has seen strong coal consumption
and imports this year but Asian demand has been disappointing to
counterbalance that.
Continued…
