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Platts to Streamline Asia-Pacific Met Coal Price Assessments

 

 

October 13, 2025 Following market feedback, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will streamline its Asia-Pacific metallurgical coal price assessments, effective Jan. 2, 2026.

This will involve discontinuing duplicate assessments and assessments for which underlying spot trade flows and activity have shifted. 

 

TSI coking coal index symbols 
 
Platts will discontinue its TSI coking coal indices, which mirror values of corresponding Platts hard coking coal assessments for low-vol FOB Australia, premium low-vol CFR China and low-vol CFR China, following the earlier merger of the TSI and Platts assessment series. These Platts assessments will not be affected and will continue to be published.
 
The affected assessments and those that they mirror are as follows:
 
TSI symbol (Monthly average) TSI index (To be discontinued Jan. 2, 2026) Platts symbol mirrored (Monthly average) Platts assessment (To be maintained)
TS01035 (TSMBI03) TSI Hard Coking Coal Australia Export FOB East Coast Port HCCAU00 (HCCAU03) Low Vol HCC FOB Australia
TS01044 (TSMBR03), TSMBW03 (rolling monthly average) TSI Prem JM25 Coking Coal China Imports CFR Jingtang Port PLVHC00 (PLVHC03) Premium Low Vol HCC CFR China
TS01045 (TSMBS03) TSI Hard JM25 Coking Coal China Imports CFR Jingtang Port HCCCH00 (HCCCH03) Low Vol HCC CFR China
 
 
The TSI Premium Hard Coking Coal Australia Export FOB East Coast Port (TS01034) assessment, which mirrors premium low-vol HCC FOB Australia (PLVHA00) and is used as the basis of settlement in financial derivatives, will not be affected and will continue to be published. 

 

Peak Downs Region assessments 
 
In reflection of the market's use of the premium low-vol HCC FOB Australia and CFR China price assessments as the main benchmarks in pricing physical cargoes and reduced liquidity of Peak Downs coal in the spot market, Platts will discontinue its Peak Downs Region assessments and related calculations:
 
Symbol (Monthly average) Assessment description Type
HCCGA00 (HCCGA03) HCC Peak Downs FOB Australia Assessment
HCCGC00 (HCCGC03) Hard Coking Coal Peak Downs CFR China Assessment
HCCGD00 HCC Peak Downs FOB Australia (China Netback) Calculation
HCCGI00 (HCCGI03) HCC Peak Downs CFR India Net Forward Calculation

 

 

For Peak Downs coal, Platts publishes the following Peak Downs Brand Assessment and Brand Assessment Relativities, which will not be affected and will continue to be published:
 
Symbol (Monthly average) Assessment description
HCPDA00 (HCPDA03) Peak Downs Brand Assessment
HCCRC00 Peak Downs percentage spread vs PLV FOB Australia
 

 

CFR China brand assessments and relativities 
 
Platts will discontinue its CFR China brand assessments and associated brand relativities, following significantly reduced Chinese imports of prime hard and low-vol coking coals in the spot market, after a structural shift in coal supply origins to the Chinese domestic market and Mongolia.
 
Since March 4, 2022, the CFR China brand assessments have been based on calculations adding Platts FOB Australia brand assessments and Platts Australia-China Panamax freight rate assessments, as outlined here.
 
The affected assessments are as follows:
 
Symbol
(Monthly average)
Assessment description
MCBAO00
(MCBAO03)
Carborough Downs
MCBAI00
(MCBAI03)
Goonyella C
MCBAE00
(MCBAE03)
Goonyella
MCBAF00
(MCBAF03)
GLV
MCBAH00
(MCBAH03)
Illawarra
MCBAN00
(MCBAN03)
Lake Vermont
MCBAP00
(MCBAP03)
Middlemount Coking
MCBAG00
(MCBAG03)
Moranbah North
MCBAR00
(MCBAR03)
Oaky North
MCBAA00
(MCBAA03)
Peak Downs
MCBAJ00
(MCBAJ03)
Peak Downs North
MCBAQ00
(MCBAQ03)
Poitrel Semi Hard
MCRVR00
(MCRVR03)
Riverside
MCBAB00
(MCBAB03)
Saraji
HCCRB00
(HCCRB03)
Caval Ridge
HCCRD00 Peak Downs percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRF00 Saraji percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRH00 Oaky North percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRJ00 Illawarra percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRL00 Moranbah North percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRN00 Goonyella percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRP00 Caval Ridge percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRR00 Goonyella C percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRT00 Riverside percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRV00 GLV percentage spread vs PLV CFR China
HCCRW00 Carborough Downs percentage spread vs Low Vol HCC CFR China

 

Platts will discontinue its coking coal forward curve assessment for the second calendar year forward, in view of limited liquidity.
 
The affected assessment is:
 
Symbol Assessment description
MCPLY02 TSI Premium Hard Coking Coal FOB Australia Derivative Yr02

The remaining forward curve assessments will not be affected.

 
Platts first proposed to streamline its Asia-Pacific metallurgical coal price assessments Sept. 8 in a subscriber note available here.
 
The price assessments are published in Platts SBB Steel Markets Daily, Steel Raw Materials Monthly, Coal Trader International, in Platts Steel Alert on pages 205, 1064, 1066, 1067, and 1120, and in the Platts price database.
A full description of the Platts assessment methodology can be found here.
 
Details of the Platts metallurgical coal and coke assessments can be found in the Global Metallurgical Coal Specifications Guide here.