Coal, Metals & Mining Theme, Metallurgical Coal, Ferrous

September 02, 2024

Platts discontinues FOB Australia metallurgical coal penalties, premia differentials

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has discontinued publication of its FOB Australia metallurgical coal penalties and premia differentials, effective Sept. 2.

The discontinuation reflects a shift in the way the market values spot cargoes of premium hard coking coal.

Market feedback indicated that participants consider differences in quality between coals in terms of aggregate brand relativities, for example, to the Platts PLV FOB Australia price assessment, rather than by applying penalties and premia for individual specification differences.

Platts first sought feedback on the proposed discontinuation in a subscriber note published Jan. 8:

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/010824-platts-proposes-to-discontinue-fob-australia-metallurgical-coal-penalties-and-premia-differentials

The feedback period for the proposal was extended to May 17 in a subscriber note published April 1:

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/040124-platts-extends-feedback-period-for-proposal-to-discontinue-fob-australia-metallurgical-coal-penalties-premia-differential

The decision to implement the proposed discontinuation was communicated June 4 in a subscriber note available here:

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/060424-platts-to-discontinue-fob-australia-metallurgical-coal-penalties-premia-differentials

Platts US low-vol HCC penalties and premia will continue to be published, reflecting a wider range of US coal specifications such as CSR and sulfur.

The assessments and calculations affected are:

Symbol Assessment
CPCSA00 CSR per 1% as a percentage of PLV FOB Australia
CPCSP00 CSR per 1% PLV $/mt
CPVPA00 VM per 1% as a percentage of PLV FOB Australia
CPVMP00 VM per 1% PLV $/mt
CPTPA00 TM per 1% as a percentage of PLV FOB Australia
CPTMP00 TM per 1% PLV $/mt
CPAPA00 Ash per 1% as a percentage of PLV FOB Australia
CPPAP00 Ash per 1% PLV $/mt
CPSPA00 Sulfur per 0.1% as a percentage of PLV FOB Australia
CPSPV00 Sulfur per 0.1% PLV $/mt

Detailed specifications of Platts metallurgical coal assessments can be found at https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/PlattsContent/_assets/_files/en/our-methodology/methodology-specifications/global_metcoal.pdf

Please send comments and questions 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.