Metals & Mining Theme, Coal, Metallurgical Coal, Ferrous
September 03, 2024
Platts to launch premium mid vol hard coking coal CFR India assessment
Following market feedback, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will launch a daily Premium Mid Vol (PMV) Hard Coking Coal CFR India price assessment, effective Oct. 1. The assessment will reflect a maturing secondary market, in which a half- or full-Panamax shipment is broken into smaller parcel sizes for resale in the India metallurgical coal spot market.
The addition of an India-focused assessment for PMV coals reflects evolving buying patterns and increasingly diverse origins of hard coking coal cargoes imported by India following the country's emergence as the largest global importer of coking coal.
The assessment will have a volume specification of between 10,000 mt and 25,000 mt, in reflection of the bulk of spot activity taking place on a CFR India basis.
The smaller volume specification relative to Platts other premium hard coking coal seaborne assessments considers market feedback that India-import trade discussions for cargoes 30,000 mt and above for both spot and term contracts, including both Australian and non-Australian origins, are predominantly discussed on an FOB Australia basis.
Discussions on an outright CFR India basis are typically observed for smaller parcel sizes for resale.
The PMV HCC CFR India assessment will have the following specifications:
| Assessment name |
Symbol |
Quality | Quantity | Incoterm | Location | Timing | Payment term | Unit of measurement |
| Premium Mid Vol Hard Coking Coal CFR India | INDIA00 (Monthly average: INDIA03) | 67% CSR, 23% VM, 10% TM, 9% ash, 0.55% sulfur, 0.03% phosphorus, 1000 ddpm max fluidity, 60% vitrinite | 10,000 mt – 25,000 mt | CFR | Paradip | Delivered 20-75 days | L/C at sight | $/mt |
Platts spot price assessments consider market information reported to Platts and published throughout the day, including firm bids and offers, transactions and indications, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process. Market information received before the 5:30 pm Singapore (0930 GMT) timestamp will be considered for the daily PMV HCC CFR India assessment. The assessment will follow the Singapore publishing schedule.
Platts may consider and normalize information reported surrounding cargoes differing in quality, volume, timing, basis location and payment terms to the specifications stated above using price differentials prevailing in the spot market.
The assessment will consider cargoes of all origins, and Platts may normalize for premiums and discounts that may arise from duty rates applicable to cargoes of different origins.
A full description of Platts assessments methodology can be found here:
Platts continues to invite submission of high-quality data relevant to the India spot market for publication, in order to test representativeness of market information for various coal types. High-quality data typically includes details such as counterparty, product quality, specifications, order sizes, dimensions, lead times and locational information.
The new assessment is in addition to Platts existing CFR India assessments for Premium Low Vol (PLV) and Low Vol hard coking coal, which reflect a calculated freight net forward basis to the corresponding FOB Australia assessments.
Platts first opened a consultation to invite feedback on its CFR India coking coal price assessments in a subscriber note published March 15:
The consultation period was extended to May 17 to capture more feedback:
Platts proposed to launch the PMV CFR India assessment Aug. 5, via a subscriber note available here:
The daily assessment and its associated monthly average will be published in Platts SBB Steel Markets Daily, Platts Steel Alert on page 0205 and in the Platts price database under the symbols listed above.
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.