china thermal export contract $145/mt, page-2

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-20/china-coal-at-32-month-high-to-spur-import-cargoes-arctic-says.html

China Coal at 32-Month High to Spur Import Cargoes, Arctic Says
By Alaric Nightingale - Jun 20, 2011 7:52 PM GMT+1000 inShare0More
Business Exchange Buzz up! Digg Print Email Rising power-station coal prices in China may bolster imports of the fuel from Australia, causing shipping costs to strengthen, Arctic Securities ASA said.

Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories a kilogram (2.2 pounds) at Qinhuangdao port gained 0.6 percent to between 840 yuan ($130) and 855 yuan a metric ton over the past week, data from China Coal Transport and Distribution Association show. That?s the highest since October 2008.

The export price for the fuel in Newcastle, Australia, is $12 a ton cheaper, Oslo-based Arctic analyst Erik Nikolai Stavseth said in an e-mailed report today. That may be ?conducive to imports? and have a ?positive impact? on demand for capesize ships that also transport iron ore, he wrote.

The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity shipping costs, has declined 20 percent this year to 1,423 points, according to the Baltic Exchange Ltd. in London

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