DAILY: China's portside thermal coal rangebound, pre-holiday demand soft

Chinese spot thermal coal prices at northern ports held largely steady on September 20, a make-up working day before the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday (September 25-27), as pre-holiday buying came in well below expectations. Still, sellers were reluctant to lower offers, citing their high costs.

Last Sunday, Mysteel assessed the benchmark 5,500 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal at Yuan 983/tonne ($146.8/t) FOB northern ports with VAT, unchanged from Friday. The 5,000 kcal/kg and 4,500 kcal/kg grades also held flat at Yuan 889/t and Yuan 803/t. At eastern ports along the Yangtze River, the 5,500 kcal/kg