CANBERRA: Shipments to China from eastern Australia’s Port Waratah Coal Services terminals jumped to a 16-month high of 1.6 million mt in May, up 21.2% month on month from 1.32 million mt in April, said the Newcastle coal terminals operator in a performance report, Wednesday.
China’s offtake from the PWCS terminals last month was the highest since January 2015 when 2.16 million mt of coal was shipped, according to PWCS data.
Traders said that Chinese buyers were attracted to Newcastle thermal coal over the past month as its price was lower than comparative calorific value domestic thermal coal in China. Prices for Newcastle 5,500 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal, the preferred product for Chinese buyers, averaged $43.80/mt FOB in May and a similar level in April.
