Reuters reported that a Pakistani importer last week bought the country's first cargo of US high sulphur thermal coal, as end users sought the best value coal origins beyond their usual South African and Indonesian material.

The buyer said that the 50,000 tonne cargo of 2.5% sulphur and 6,200 kc per kilogram Net As Received energy content coal was sold by a trader to the importing firm at around USD 121.00 per tonne CIF.

The cargo will be partly discharged in Dubai, to offload around 10,000 tonnes to 12,000 tonnes and then continue to Pakistan, this saves money on the freight which works out at around USD 23 per tonne. Overall, US coal is now cheaper than Indonesian for the Pakistan market.

A glut of US coal unwanted by the shrinking domestic market has been flooding out as exports all over the world, primarily to Europe but increasingly this year to Asia.

Source - Reuters

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