(EnergyAsia, July 14 2011, Thursday) — Marex Spectron Group, the UK-based global commodities and financial markets brokerage, said it has become the first broker to offer coverage of the Chinese coal swaps market.

This is a key development in the evolution of the coal market in China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal.

Marex Spectron said the CFR China 5500 grade swaps can now be traded through its live trading screen or over the phone through its voice brokering team. The swaps are settled against IHS McCloskey/Xinhua Infolink South China CFR markers. Prices across the quarters, seasons, calendar half years, and full years have already been discussed.

Nick Lygoe, co-head of Coal at Marex Spectron, said:

“Interest in the Chinese swaps has been driven largely by players based in Asia, where we have established the market-leading position since opening an office in Singapore in April.

“However we are also expecting traders from Europe and the US to get involved too, much as they have done in the Indonesian coal swaps market.”

Volumes in the Indonesian sub-bituminous coal swaps market have surged since Marex Spectron started covering the market in April.

The London-headquartered company is also a long-established broker of other coal swaps markets globally from its offices in the UK and US, including API#2 (CIF ARA) and API#4 (FOB Richards Bay) contracts.

Marex Spectron Group, the result of Marex’s acquisition of Spectron in March 2011, is the world’s largest privately owned commodities broker, with a market-leading position in on-exchange metals, energy and agricultural products and over-the-counter energy, freight and environmental markets. Marex Spectron Group is majority owned by JRJ Group and its partners, Trilantic Capital Partners and BXR Group.