Coal, Metals & Mining, Metallurgical Coal, Ferrous
October 19, 2026
Platts proposes to update basis specifications of semi soft coking coal CFR China assessment
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, proposes to update the basis specifications of its semi soft coking coal CFR China assessment to reflect changes to trade flows, effective Jan. 4, 2027, to more closely align quality and payment terms with those of material trading in the spot market.
The Platts semi soft CFR China assessment is not origin-specific, though spot activity has increasingly centered around Russian material, with activity around Australian, US and Indonesian coals having declined significantly.
The shift in activity follows several major developments in recent years, including China's unofficial ban on Australian coal imports between October 2020 and January 2023, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, and the introduction of US-China trade tariffs from 2025.
The proposed specification updates are as follows:
| Current specifications | Proposed specifications | |
| Symbol (Monthly average) | MCSSC00 (MCSSC03) | |
| VM | 34% | 34% (as received basis) |
| Ash | 9.25% | 9.0% (as received basis) |
| Sulfur | 0.58% | 0.50% (as received basis) |
| TM | 9.5% | 10% (as received basis) |
| CSN | 5.5 | - |
| Phosphorus | 0.025% | - |
| Fixed Carbon | 53% | - |
| Max Fluidity | 200 ddpm | - |
| G index | - | 65 |
| FSI | - | 5 |
| Quantity | Min 10,000 mt | Min 10,000 mt |
| Timing | Delivered 20-75 days forward | Delivered 20-75 days forward |
| Payment | L/C at sight | T/T at sight |
| Location | Qingdao | Qingdao |
| Unit of measure (UOM) | $/mt | $/mt |
Specifications are on an air-dried basis, unless otherwise stated.
Platts will continue to consider market information relevant to other qualities of semi soft and may normalize information to the above-proposed basis specification.
All other specifications will remain unchanged.
The Platts Semi Soft CFR China assessment is published in Platts SBB Steel Markets Daily, Steel Raw Materials Monthly, Coal Trader International, in Platts Steel Alert on page 205, 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:
Platts invites feedback, comments and questions on this proposal to: pl_cokingcoal@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by Nov. 20, 2026.
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.