Chinese buyers of seaborne thermal coal have been canceling deals or trying to defer delivery cargoes to the end of December amid ongoing curbs on imported material, market sources said Monday. An international trader said a Chinese buyer walked away from a deal when the cargo was loaded last week. As such, the trader had to resell the cargo, incurring a loss of about $1.75-$2.00/mt. Chinese buyers do not want to restart discussions until the middle of next month when they will negotiate January cargoes, he said, as they expected restrictions on imports to be eased in the new year. Given the expectations of a huge vessel queue in January ahead of Lunar New Year holidays, the first quarter of next year would be “depressing”, the trader, adding that it was a good time for Indian buyers. A trade for Newcastle 5,500 kcal/kg NAR coal was reported […]