Platts to change the volume size for the FOB Newcastle 5,500 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal assessment

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will increase the standard volume size for its FOB Newcastle 5,500 kcal/kg NAR (AAVVB00) thermal coal price assessment to 75,000 mt, effective July 8, 2025.

Platts first proposed to increase the standard volume size for its FOB Newcastle 5,500 kcal/kg NAR (AAVVB00) thermal coal price specification amendments in a subscriber note published on May 20, 2025, following research and market engagement.

The change in volume size would reflect the trend toward larger cargo sizes shipped out of the Port of Newcastle and capture changes to prevailing trading patterns in the region. This proposal follows feedback from the market, an analysis of published data in the region and a vessel tracking analysis.

The proposal note is available here(opens in a new tab).

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea(opens in a new tab), the volume of shipments done through vessels ranging in size from 75,000 mt to 130,000 mt has comprised over 90% of total thermal coal shipments moving out of Australia between 2022 and 2024. Meanwhile, the volume of shipments done through vessels with a size ranging from 35,000 mt to 65,000 mt remained consistently below 10 million mt during the same period.

Platts may consider bids, offers and trades outside of the standard specifications for publication and review for normalization.

The FOB Newcastle thermal coal assessment appears in Platts Coal Trader International and Platts Service Page Number GCI0500, GCI0410 and PEP0910.

Please send all feedback, comments, and questions to coal@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by July 7, 2025.

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.