DAILY: Elevated freight costs curb China's buying of Indonesian thermal coal

China's buying interest in Indonesian thermal coal remained subdued on March 23, as elevated freight rates continued to erode the price competitiveness of seaborne cargoes compared with domestic alternatives, market sources said.

Indonesian 3,800 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal was recently offered at around $62-63/tonne FOB Kalimantan on Panamax vessels. With freight rates from South Kalimantan to South China rising to around $10-11/t, the buying cost for the grade reached approximately Yuan 560/t ($81.3/t) CFR South China with VAT, sources noted. This stood