Coal’s Rebound
The price of thermal coal from Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, reached a 17-month high of $68.50 a ton last week after trading as low as $48.50 in April. European coal prices jumped 31 percent in the second quarter, broker data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Despite stating that the transactions were to lock-in future prices, the company said in a regulatory filling that they couldn’t be designated as hedging instruments under international accountancy rules. Glencore was therefore forced to recognize it as a loss.
In addition to that hedge, the company also effectively locks-in prices by selling coal to Japanese utilities at a fixed price under annual contracts. Under accounting rules, it doesn’t need to recognize a mark-to-market position on its Japanese deals.
The loss wasn’t related to a type of speculative trade that Glencore has made in the past, which involved selling call options to banks and hedge funds, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked to not be identified because the dealings aren’t public.