DAILY: Chinese thermal coal market remains sluggish

China's spot thermal coal prices continued to move sideways on March 20, with weak market sentiment prevailing amid high inventories and lackluster demand. While low-calorific-value coal saw a slight improvement in demand, the overall market remained under downward pressure.

On Thursday, Mysteel assessed spot prices for 5,500 kcal/kg, 5,000 kcal/kg, and 4,500 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal at Yuan 685/tonne ($94.5/t), Yuan 595/t, and Yuan 520/t, respectively, FOB with 13% VAT, all unchanged from the previous day. Market participants noted a marginal increase in buying interest for 4,500 kcal/kg NAR