Via Macquarie:
Can the coking coal benchmark system now survive?
With spot seaborne prices remaining volatile in 2017, the benchmark quarterly pricing system on which most miners price has come under extreme pressure. There has still been no formal quarterly settlement for 2Q17 contract prices despite more than half of the quarter having passed, as the volatility in spot prices seen in recent weeks post Cyclone Debbie has made both sides reluctant to agree to a price.