Singapore (Platts)--4Jan2012/1230 pm EST/1730 GMT

A lack of demand, in particular from China, continued to exert downward pressure on the seaborne hard coking coal market Wednesday, although given the absence of visible spot supply, prices remained steady on the day.

Platts Premium Low Vol was unmoved on the day at $219.50/mt FOB Australia, although HCC 64 Mid Vol rose slightly, up $0.50/mt to $196/mt FOB. Miners and traders reported a continued lack of interest for spot HCC from most steelmakers and coke makers, mainly citing the holiday season and the approaching Chinese New Year.

"There is very limited spot demand," a premium HCC producer said. "We've had zero spot inquiries over the last two weeks."

Another HCC producer agreed, adding that Chinese customers weren't yet willing to discuss February cargoes.

There were no signs of significant oversupply either, as some miners were said to have cleared excess positions in December. "We're fairly relaxed about having to move [our premium HCC brand]," one miner said.

A North Chinese steelmaker reported receiving an offer just below $240/mt CFR for a February arrival of 74% CSR Australian low-vol.

The purchasing manager of the mill commented that the price was still a little bit high, but that it was approaching domestic levels. "It seems that domestic coal prices are likely to keep stable in the coming month, so seaborne coal could be considered in the future."

On second-tier HCC, a producer of 60-63% CSR low-vol material agreed that spot prices for such coal would be likely to be agreed between $195-200/mt FOB Australia at present, an opinion validated by indicative bids and offers collected this week for cargoes into India and China.

In the Atlantic, a trader said there was some restocking interest from several countries, but that he saw a gap between bids and offers.

One steelmaker in the region said he had received some indicative offers for premium Australian HCC below Platts Premium Low Vol, but that he was undecided due to "tough" steel markets.

He agreed that the slight discounts could relate to quality factors, and added that firm offers could end up being higher than these initial indications. "They have some spot availability, meaning there could be room for prices to decline," he added. In Australia, an HCC miner said that 200 mm of rain had fallen over his mine in December, resulting in two or three days of lost production. He added that this was common for a "normal" month, and atypical for the rainy season.

In the blast furnace coke market, deals were said to have been agreed into India at $360/mt CFR for Australian high-CSR material, and at $375/mt CFR for Colombian material. The information could not immediately be verified.

Domestic Indian 64% CSR, 12.5% ash coke was available at around $355/mt ex-works West India, a trader said. --Julien Hall, julien_hall@platts.com --Helena Sheng, helena_sheng@platts.com