TY - JOUR N2 - The demand for coking coal in international trade is determined mainly by demand from the steel industry, which, in turn, is dependent on the global economic situation and the condition of the steel market. Business cycles in commodity markets are normal, but in the 21st century the good and bad times in the global coal market have shortened, and the amplitudes of price fluctuations have been much greater than they used to be. China, as the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coking coals, and at the same time the largest importer and major participant in the Asian spot market, played a leading role in these events. On the supply side, the main factor for these events is the concentration of production of premium hard coals on the east coast of Australia (in Queensland), in an area exposed to strong weather conditions (floods, hurricanes). Australia’s share of coal supply to the international metallurgical coal market (seaborne) is about 60%. Coal prices on the international market are mainly shaped by the relationships between Australian suppliers and Asian customers. The increased share of China and India in global coking coal trade has weakened the bargaining power of Japanese giant companies in benchmark price negotiations. Using the example of FOB prices of the Australian Premium HCC, the article shows how prices in metallurgical coal trade have evolved (in a long time horizon) against the background of market conditions. It also describes how the ongoing changes have affected the way benchmark prices are set in international coking coal trade. L1 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/120902/Ozga-Blaschke.pdf L2 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/120902 PY - 2021 IS - No 3 EP - 138 DO - 10.24425/gsm.2021.138656 KW - coking coal KW - benchmark prices KW - spot market A1 - Ozga-Blaschke, Urszula PB - Komitet Zrównoważonej Gospodarki Surowcami Mineralnymi PAN PB - Instytut Gospodarki Surowcami Mineralnymi i Energią PAN VL - vol. 37 DA - 2021.09.29 T1 - Dynamics of coking coal pricing in international trade in 1980–2020 SP - 125 UR - http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/120902 T2 - Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi - Mineral Resources Management ER -