Thermal coal: Trading
How agency indices like API 2 and API 4 price coal
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Most coal is sold under term contracts or as spot cargoes priced against indices from price-reporting agencies such as Argus, S&P Global Platts, McCloskey and globalCOAL. The API 2 index (delivered to Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) and API 4 (free on board at Richards Bay) began as averages of agency assessments (Geman). ICE lists futures on Rotterdam and Newcastle coal. China's Zhengzhou exchange has a thermal coal contract, though state price guidance limits its role. Miner-traders such as Glencore and large Indonesian and Australian producers dominate seaborne supply.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Utilities and industrial users in China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Turkey buy seaborne coal; China took 23.6%, India 18.4% and Japan 17.4% of 2024 coal import value (UN Comtrade)
- In India, coastal plants of Adani Power, Tata Power and state utilities import; NTPC and state gencos sign fuel supply agreements with Coal India and SCCL and run import tenders
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Australian, Indonesian, Russian, South African, Colombian and US miners; Australia had 44.0% and Indonesia 23.7% of 2024 coal export value (UN Comtrade, includes coking coal)
- In India, Coal India and SCCL sell under fuel supply agreements at notified prices plus e-auctions; commercial mine owners sell freely
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ICE Futures Europe | Newcastle Coal futures, 1,000 t, cash-settled on the globalCOAL NEWC index (6,000 kcal/kg NAR) | Asia-Pacific benchmark |
| ICE Futures Europe | Rotterdam Coal futures, 1,000 t, cash-settled on API2 (CIF ARA) | European benchmark |
| ICE Futures Europe | Richards Bay Coal futures, settled on API4 (FOB South Africa) | Benchmark for South African coal, much of it sold to India |
| Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange | Thermal coal futures (5,500 kcal/kg) | Trading curbed by regulators since 2022, so liquidity is thin |
| Coal India e-auction platforms | Spot, special forward and exclusive e-auctions of domestic coal | India's main market-price window for non-contract coal; a coal exchange has been proposed |
Contract types
- Long-term and annual supply contracts (Japan's utilities historically set a reference price with Australian sellers)
- Spot cargoes priced off index (NEWC, API2, API4, Indonesian ICI) with quality adjustments for calorific value
- India's fuel supply agreements at Coal India notified prices by grade (G1 to G17)
- Swaps and futures for hedging
Top trading houses
- Glencore
- Trafigura
- Vitol
- Noble Resources
- Adani Enterprises
- Coal Trading arms of Chinese state groups (Shenhua, CCTD members)
How prices are discovered
- globalCOAL NEWC index
- Argus/McCloskey API2 and API4 indices
- Argus and Coalindo Indonesian Coal Index (ICI 1-5)
- S&P Global Platts and Argus Newcastle assessments; Indonesia's government benchmark HBA