The Asia-Pacific coal market consolidated on 26 October, with Australian Newcastle 6,000 kcal coal unchanged at $150.50 a tonne. In Europe, coal moved against rising gas and power, and dry-bulk freight eased.
Spot Newcastle 6000 was flat at $150.50/t; the December contract rose $1 to $156. Indonesian 4200 rose $0.20 to $79. Forecast for high-CV coal: cautiously neutral to positive; mid- and low-CV: neutral to positive.
DES ARA was flat at $150/t, Richards Bay 6000 at $130.50/t. Gas and power rose while coal futures fell. Forecast for ARA coal and TTF gas: neutral to positive.
Capesize rates fell $585 to $30,292 a day and Panamax $309 to $18,672. Asian spot LNG rose $1.20 to $31.90/MMBtu; Brent consolidated at $115.50 a barrel.
| Grade | US$/t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (FOB Newcastle) | ||
| NEWC 6000 spot | 150.50 | 0.00 |
| NEWC 6000 December | 156.00 | +1.00 |
| NEWC 6000 Cal 2027 | 159.00 | 0.00 |
| NEWC 5500 spot | 114.00 | 0.00 |
| SGX met coal FOB Australia, Q4 2026 | 263.40 | +1.10 |
| South Africa (FOB Richards Bay) | ||
| RB 6000 spot | 130.50 | 0.00 |
| RB 6000 December | 135.00 | +0.50 |
| RB 6000 Cal 2027 | 132.00 | 0.00 |
| RB 5700 spot | 124.00 | 0.00 |
| RB 5500 spot | 115.75 | −0.25 |
| Indonesia (FOB) | ||
| Indo 4200 spot | 79.00 | +0.20 |
| North-west Europe (DES ARA) | ||
| ARA spot | 150.00 | 0.00 |
| ARA December | 150.50 | −1.00 |
| ARA Cal 2027 | 147.50 | −0.50 |
Australian coal was steady. Spot physical Newcastle 6,000 kcal/kg NAR was assessed unchanged at $150.50 a tonne FOB and Newcastle 5,500 at $114. On the futures curve, December rose $1 to $156 and calendar 2027 was flat at $159. The SGX FOB Australia metallurgical coal contract for the fourth quarter gained $1.10 to $263.40 after confirming recent support.
In South Africa, spot Richards Bay 6,000 was flat at $130.50 a tonne, still at a significant discount to financial contracts: December rose $0.50 to $135, while calendar 2027 was flat at $132. Richards Bay 5,700 was unchanged at $124 and 5,500 slipped $0.25 to $115.75. The backlog of shipments at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal is expected to ease from 2.2 to 1.85 million tonnes this week.
Indonesian 4,200 kcal coal rose $0.20 to $79 a tonne. Indonesia’s exports averaged 930,000 tonnes a day over the past five days, well below the 2025 average of 1.31 million tonnes a day. In China, FOB Qinhuangdao was CNY1,040 a tonne.
In Europe, spot DES ARA was flat at $150 a tonne, while the December contract closed $1 lower at $150.50 and calendar 2027 slipped $0.50 to $147.50. Gas and power moved the other way: TTF December rose 2.2% to €95.82/MWh, German power 2.3% to €205.40/MWh and EU carbon (CO2) 2.2% to €88.40 a tonne. US Henry Hub gas traded at about $3.04/MMBtu.
Dry-bulk freight eased. The Capesize 5TC index fell $585 to $30,292 a day; the fourth-quarter contract lost $780 to $34,130 and calendar 2027 $350 to $31,100. The Panamax 5TC index fell $309 to $18,672 a day, with the fourth quarter down $335 to $18,890 and calendar 2027 down $250 to $16,650.
Forecast: cautiously neutral to positive for Asian high-CV coal, as last week’s brief consolidation may be over; neutral to positive for Asian mid- and low-CV coal, DES ARA coal and TTF gas.
Source: Industry coal market report, 26 October 2026. Figures as reported on 26 October 2026; forecasts are the report author's and may be revised. Summary and wording by Megawise.
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