WEEKLY: China's thermal coal market softens on bloated inventories

China's spot thermal coal market began softening over the past week (November 24-28), against previous expectations for a rebound after being steady for a week, as rising inventories at utilities and ports weighed on buying interest.

As of November 28, Mysteel's assessment for the benchmark 5,500 kcal/kg thermal coal at China's northern ports reached Yuan 821/tonne ($116.8/t), down Yuan 9/t from a week ago. The 5,000 kcal/kg and 4,500 kcal/kg NAR grades reached Yuan 721/t and Yuan 625/t, down Yuan 16/t and Yuan 13/t, respectively.