Contracts in the ICE Coal Futures portfolio traded in record tonnage in October with a total of 195 million t cleared, according to globalCOAL (gC).
Record coal traded in all three hubs
The ICE Coal Futures portfolio consists of three contracts for the world's busiest international coal hubs: Rotterdam (Europe), Richards Bay (South Africa) and Newcastle (Australia). All-time high volume was achieved in all three hubs.
Newcastle trades above 20 million t for the first time
The Newcastle contract traded above 20 million t for the first time, breaking the previous record set in September. Interest in the contract has been high throughout 2013, with year-to-date volume reaching 152 million t – already exceeding the previous yearly record of 123 million t set in 2010.
Rotterdam and Richards Bay achieved record volumes
The Rotterdam and Richard Bay contracts also achieved record volumes of 129 million t and 45.5 million t respectively. This tonnage included a record volume of options traded: 35 million t for Rotterdam (27% of October volume) and 11.5 million t for Richards Bay (25% of October volume).
Adapted from press release by Jonathan Rowland