euro coal-s.african tightness boosts prices

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/markets-coal-physical-idUSL6E8HRGDX20120627

Euro Coal-S.African tightness boosts prices by $1/T



Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:28pm EDT

* Aug S.African trades three times at $87/T

* Supply seen extremely tight for July, August S.African

(Reuters) - Prompt South African FOB physical coal prices rose by around $1.00 on Wednesday as traders bought to cover short positions amid tight supply for July and August cargoes.

Prices have risen by around $7.00 a tonne during the past week, mostly on trader buying.

There has been underlying Indian end-user interest from cement and sponge iron makers and more enquiries from Indian traders supplying them but not enough to be the sole reason for the price rebound.

"Supply is extremely tight for July, you can't find anything from South Africa, nobody is willing to sell and August is looking like it'll be just as tight," one European trader said.

DES ARA European prices also moved higher by around $1.00 after bids from utility/traders and traders but no fresh deals were reported.

TRADES

Three August loading South African cargoes traded at $87.00 a tonne FOB Richards Bay, up 5 cents from Tuesday's last traded level.

A Calendar 2013 trade for 25,000 tonnes a month of South African coal was done at $90.00 a tonne FOB.

PRICES

A July loading South African cargo was bid at $89.00, up $1.25 from Tuesday.

An August South African cargo was bid on at $87.00 after the earlier trades, up $1.00 from Tuesday.

A July delivery DES ARA cargo was bid at $88.00, up over $1.00 while an August cargo was bid at $89.00 and offered at $89.50, also up around $1.00. (Reporting by Jacqueline Cowhig, editing by William Hardy)