Email of the day (3)
Comment of the Day

June 13 2011

Commentary by Eoin Treacy

Email of the day (3)

on metallurgical coal prices in the Chart Library:
"I was looking at the Metallurgical coal price (McCloskey's) in the library but at 1800 (USD?) I am not sure what it actually represents. I thought the USD price per tonne was around $275 for metallurgical coal? Any wisdom shared on this matter would be gratefully received!"

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this inquiry which others may also have an interest in. The McCloskey price for metallurgical coal in the Chart Library is priced in Chinese Yuan per Tonne. The "CNY" following the title denotes Chinese Yuan.

Metallurgical or coking coal is a difficult commodity on which to get accurate pricing. The only ones we have access to are for Chinese coking coal. These are the McCloskey price you refer to and 2nd grade coking coal for Shanghai and Tianjin. The McCloskey price is not updated particularly often and I believe the latter two are more reflective of the market. As a result I have removed the McCloskey price.

The Shanghai and Tianjin prices have been ranging with an upward bias since late 2008. They failed to sustain upward breaks in January but have held the progression of higher reaction lows and sustained breaks below the mid January lows would be required to check potential for a successful upward break over the medium term.

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