It is reported that steam coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, an Asian benchmark, fell by1.1% in the week ended today.

According to the globalCOAL NEWC Index, steam coal prices at the New South Wales port declined to USD 110.28 a tonne from USD 111.53 the previous week.

Despite the lower prices, there were reports that supplies from Australia's Newcastle port were a little tight for very prompt delivery, likely due to some producers overselling for December and January.

Australian thermal coal shipments from Newcastle port rose 34% in the week ended December 12 to 2.58 million tonnes, while the vessel queue increased to 20 ships from 12 as some producers rushed to send out a few extra cargoes by the year end.

(Sourced from Bloomberg & Reuters)