China’s coastal coal shipping market has divided in the past days, with freight rates for small vessels edging up on active demand while large ones in minor fluctuations, showed data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

On August 13, the shipping rate for vessels of 50,000-60,000 DWT from Qinhuangdao to Guangzhou port remained unchanged on day at 32.0 yuan/t, being roughly stable since August 5.

The freight for smaller vessels of 15,000-20,000 DWT from Qinhuangdao to Ningbo port in East China's Zhejiang province rose for the third straight day to 29.2 yuan/t, up 0.5 yuan/t on week.

Bookings for smaller vessels have increased in recent days, a Shanghai-based shipping source said, noting vessels need to wait for some coal products that have become tight due to reduced supply.

Freight rate for 30,000-40,000 DWT vessels from Huanghua to Shanghai port rose 0.2 yuan/t on week to 26.8 yuan/t, while that for 40,000-50,000 DWT vessels from Jingtang/Caofeidian to Ningbo port kept steady on week at 25.4 yuan/t.

Utilities appeared to be active in restocking following a decrease in their coal stocks as consumption increased amid hot weather. They also considered the coastal market has bottomed out.

Data showed daily coal use at the six coastal power groups rose 2.68% on week to 713,400 tonnes on August 10.

Vessels waiting off Qinhuangdao port hit a nearly three-month high of 74 on August 14, 11 more than a week ago, with 20 expected to arrive.