Broker limits bids for Richards Bay coal

NO more bids for over 25 000 million tons of high quality coal stockpiled in Richards Bay will be allowed on the world’s top coal broker globalCOAL’s electronic trading platform.

The broker announced on Monday it would cap the growing ‘above the market’ offers for coal via the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) after receiving complaints from international traders that non-standard shipments of 40 000 million tons and 60 000mt artificially drives up the price of SA coal.

Since January there has reportedly been a significant jump in the number of buyers looking for non-standard tonnages for RB1 coal – RBCT’s main export-quality grade.

‘The new clip size limit will be implemented on the globalCOAL platform this weekend and will remain in place until the end of December when the functioning of the market will be re-examined by globalCOAL,’ said the broker.

‘All other volumetric sizes will be accommodated in the Phys API 4 Index market (the benchmark for pricing SA coal) and by globalCOAL’s voice brokerage service.’

In response, RBCT said it has no opinion on the matter.

‘The terminal is responsible for offloading trains and loading vessels based on instructions from Coal Exporting Parties (CEPs),’ said RBCT Corporate Affairs Manager Gcina Nhleko.

‘Based on the service we provide, RBCT is unable to comment on the matter of unusual tonnages.’

Big buyers

India, now RBCT’s biggest customer after knocking China into second place, continues to rise at the centre of the seaborne thermal coal market.

Two weeks ago, GlobalCOAL welcomed eight new Indian market members to its online coal trading platform while projections for the Asian country’s imports over the next three years escalated at 165mt (2015), 180mt (2016) and 190mt (2017).

For SA, it makes India somewhat of a saving grace as Chinese imports slacken.