DAILY: China's thermal coal prices climb higher as pre-winter buys heat up

China's thermal coal prices rose for a third session on October 10, a make-up working day after the National Day holiday (October 1-7), as downstream utilities in North China moved to build up stocks for the winter use. Coastal power plants, however, remained on the sidelines, with sources noting that their supply is well covered by term contracts.

On October 10, Mysteel assessed the benchmark 5,500 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal at Yuan 996/tonne ($148.8/t) FOB northern ports with VAT, up Yuan 6/t from a day ago. The 5,000 kcal/kg NAR grade gained Yuan 5/t to Yuan 900/t and the 4,500 kcal/kg NAR grade rose Yuan 3/t to