Asian coal prices skyrocket 32% overnight

Coal prices in the Asia-Pacific region have skyrocketed as mills faced supply shortages amid news that BHP Billiton, the world's largest coal mining firm, has declared force majeure due to logistical problems caused by Cyclone Debbie.

The source pointed out in the BHP statement about the force majeure, which was an important signal for the global metallurgy. One steelmaker reported that while the other miners did not publicly declare force majeure, they pointed to problems on a "cargo transportation basis." Market demand was reflected in coal trading with several suppliers from Canada, the United States, Russia and China.

The wide geographic range of trades indicates a shortage of supply of a global magnitude faced by the market. This is reflected in the end-user offer numbers. The highest indicative rate was $ 240 /t FOB Australia. One of them was for premium coal of Australian origin re-exported from the ports of China at $ 240 /t FOB China. The volume was indicated at 60,000 tons. In the short term, there may be a reduction in steel production, several steel companies said.