Platts streamlines Asia-Pacific met coal price assessments

Following market feedback, Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has streamlined its Asia-Pacific metallurgical coal price assessments, effective Jan. 2, 2026.

This involves the discontinuation of duplicate assessments and assessments for which underlying spot trade flows and activity have shifted.

TSI coking coal index symbols

Platts has discontinued its TSI coking coal indices that mirrored values of corresponding Platts hard coking coal assessments for low-vol FOB Australia, premium low-vol CFR China and low-vol CFR China, following the earlier merger of the TSI and Platts assessment series. These Platts assessments continue to be published.

The discontinued assessments and those that they mirrored are as follows:

The TSI indices had been published as duplicate values of their corresponding Platts assessments since June 1, 2018: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/pricing-benchmarks/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/053118-platts-merges-discontinues-several-tsi-platts-hard-coking-coal-indices-metals.

The TSI Premium Hard Coking Coal Australia Export FOB East Coast Port (TS01034) assessment, which mirrors premium low-vol HCC FOB Australia (PLVHA00) and is used as the basis of settlement in financial derivatives, is not affected and continues to be published.

Peak Downs Region assessments

In reflection of the market's use of the premium low-vol HCC FOB Australia and CFR China price assessments as the main benchmarks in pricing physical cargoes and reduced liquidity of Peak Downs coal in the spot market, Platts has discontinued its Peak Downs Region assessments and related calculations:

For Peak Downs coal, Platts publishes the following Peak Downs Brand Assessment and Brand Assessment Relativities, which are not affected and continue to be published:

CFR China brand assessments and relativities

Platts has discontinued its CFR China brand assessments and associated brand relativities, following significantly reduced Chinese imports of prime hard and low-vol coking coals in the spot market, after a structural shift in coal supply origins to the Chinese domestic market and Mongolia.

Since March 4, 2022, the CFR China brand assessments have been based on calculations adding Platts FOB Australia brand assessments and Platts Australia-China Panamax freight rate assessments, as outlined here.

The affected assessments are as follows:

The following CFR China brand assessments, previously listed as assessments due to be discontinued, had been discontinued effective Sept. 2, 2024: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/pricing-benchmarks/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/090224-platts-launches-caval-ridge-coking-coal-brand-relativity-assessment-discontinue-relativities-with-lower-spot-liquidity.

Coking coal derivative calendar year 2 assessment

Platts has discontinued its coking coal forward curve assessment for the second calendar year forward, in view of limited liquidity.

The affected assessment is:

The remaining forward curve assessments are not affected.

Platts first proposed to streamline its Asia-Pacific metallurgical coal price assessments Sept. 8 in a subscriber note available here.

Platts communicated its decision to implement the discontinuations in an Oct. 10 subscriber note, available here.

The price assessments are published in Platts SBB Steel Markets Daily, Steel Raw Materials Monthly, Coal Trader International, in Platts Steel Alert on pages 205, 1064, 1066, 1067 and 1120 and in the Platts price database.

A full description of the Platts assessment methodology can be found here.

Details of the Platts metallurgical coal and coke assessments can be found in the Global Metallurgical Coal Specifications Guide here.

Please send feedback, comments and questions to pl_cokingcoal@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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