Platts to use FOB net forward values for Australian coking coal brand relativities

Following market feedback, S&P Global Platts will use "net-forward" calculations for the assessment of its 14 Australian coking coal brand relativities on a CFR China basis, effective March 4, 2022. These values will be calculated from Platts' existing FOB Australia assessments and relativities.

For its 10 premium hard coking coal CFR China brand relativities, Platts will add spot Panamax freight rates from Australia to China to their respective FOB Australia brand relativities. For example, Peak Downs CFR China (MCBAA00) will be calculated as Peak Downs FOB Australia (HCPDA00) plus Panamax freight Australia-China (CDBFA00), and so on.

Other Australian coking coal relativities for hard coking coals and semi-hard coking coals such as Carborough Downs will be assessed using net-forward calculations for the Australian benchmark assessment for non-premium low vol HCC FOB Australia (HCCAU00).

No coking coal has been observed to be trading between Australia and China since October 2019 when China unofficially banned imports of Australian coals. Since then, all Platts Australian coking coal brand relativities on a CFR China basis have been assessed at a fixed differential to each other.

The move to a net-forward approach aims to increase the relevance and usefulness of these assessments by ensuring their relative values are adjusted along with fluctuations in the international coking coal market, and ensure their values are more closely tied to market conditions in the Australian export market.

The changes were initially proposed on Jan. 14 in a subscriber note available here: https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/011422-platts-proposes-to-use-fob-net-forward-values-for-australian-coking-coal-brand-relativities

Platts will continue to monitor Chinese import policy with regards to Australian coal. In the event of a resumption of the Australia-China trade flow, Platts may revert to assessing by prioritizing information received on a CFR China basis, as was the case prior to October 2019.

Affected assessments:

The affected assessments are published in SBB Steel Markets Daily, Coal Trader International, on the real-time Platts Steel, Raw Materials Alert on fixed pages 1064, and in the Platts price database under the symbols mentioned above.

Please send comments, questions and other feedback on this decision to pl_cokingcoal@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.