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Coal for delivery in January into Europe's main ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (ARA) was bid at $83, with no reports of trades, after settling at $87.75 on Tuesday, the highest since late-October.
January South African cargoes from the Richards Bay export terminal were valued at $85.25 a tonne, up 25 cents from Tuesday's last settlement.
In recent weeks, European coal prices have ended a three-year decline as Colombian output falls short and a rise in US natural gas prices has made coal more competitive there, but analysts say bigger price increases are unlikely before late 2014.