Market and product

The volume of coal traded and cleared on the ICE Futures platform during March rose 12% month on month to 208 million mt, which was also 8% higher than the same month in 2015, according to data from energy exchange ICE Futures Europe and electronic trading platform globalCOAL Tuesday.

March's monthly volume comprised 37%, or 77.3 million mt, of options, which was 14% higher than February's total but 18% lower than a year ago.

The amount of ICE Rotterdam Coal Futures traded and cleared during the month jumped 23% on the month to 161.1 million mt and was up 11% year on year.

Of the volume, 41%, or 65.4 million mt, was traded as options, climbing 29% from February but down 15% on the year.

According to Platts Market data, Rotterdam prompt-month April derivatives rose 95 cents during the month to close at $44.95/mt March 31.

ICE Richards Bay Futures volumes dropped 9% on the month to 11.7 million mt, almost double the 6 million mt traded and cleared during the same month in 2015. For the first time in nine months, Richards Bay options traded, with the volume at 2 million mt, more than three times higher than 600,000 mt traded a year ago.

The Richards Bay April swaps contracts increased almost $3 during March, gaining $2.65 to close at $52.95/mt at the end of the month, according to Platts Market data.

Volumes of globalCOAL Newcastle Coal Futures traded and cleared during March dropped 14% on the month and on the year to 35.2 million mt.

Options made up 28% of the total Newcastle contracts at 9.9 million mt, which was 43% lower than February's 12-month high and fell 42% on the year.

According to Platts Market data, Newcastle prompt-month paper prices gained $2.10 to $51.10/mt over March.