DAILY: China's thermal coal market heats up; freight costs surge

China's domestic thermal coal market rose sharply on November 3, with traders reporting fresh inquiries, firmer offers, and a growing bullish sentiment across northern ports, even as fundamentals remained mixed and downstream buyers hesitated at higher price levels.

On Monday, Mysteel assessed 5,500 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal at Yuan 776/tonne ($108.9/t) FOB northern ports with VAT, up by Yuan 7/t from last Friday. The 5,000 kcal/kg and 4,500 kcal/kg NAR grades each gained by Yuan 6/t to Yuan 683/t and Yuan 593/t, respectively. The market sentiment was boosted