Turkey’s Kardemir issues 600,000-tonne coking coal tender

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The steelmaker, which launches regular tenders for raw materials, is looking for 24-26% volatile matter coking coal with a maximum ash content of 8%.

Traders speaking to Steel First said that they expected a US producer or trader to win the tender.

“Kardemir has bought from X-coal recently,” a European trader told Steel First.

“Turkish mills are very price sensitive, I expect they will buy whoever can offer the best price for the specifications,” a second trader said.

Although US coking coal imports have a freight advantage to Turkey over Australian coking coals, Australian producers have gained market share in recent months by undercutting their competitors.

Metal Bulletin’s index for premium hard coking coal sold fob Australia, which has a maximum volatile matter content of 25% and a maximum ash content of 11%, stood at $115.58 per tonne on Friday May 16.

Kardemir was not available for comment at time of publication.