New Hope Corp, Australia's top independent coal producer, sees signs the Asian thermal coal market has bottomed out, with prices expected to creep up over the medium term.

New Hope said growing ship queues at the port of Newcastle were a positive signal, showing demand remained firm for Australian coal from power stations such as in Japan and South Korea.

Managing Director Shane Stephan said that at the same time, growth in Australian thermal coal supply had tapered following a ramp-up over the past few years, when miners sought to maximize output to cut their costs per ton as prices slumped.

That has helped keep benchmark coal prices at Newcastle in the low $50-a-ton level for the past six to eight months, following a 60 percent slide since 2011.

"It seems to have found - one hates to say a floor - but it seems to have stabilized around that level. We still believe in the medium term there will be some price improvement, but it is likely to be moderate," Stephan told Reuters on Tuesday.

He said prices could rise toward $60 a ton, but declined to predict anything beyond that.

UBS analysts said they saw little chance of Japanese thermal coal contract prices improving for the 2016-17 contract year, in face of ample supply and waning Chinese demand.

It is counting on cost cuts and expansion, with its recent A$850 million acquisition of Rio Tinto's 40 percent stake in the Bengalla coal mine in the Hunter Valley, to spur growth.

Stephan said the company was unlikely to chase further acquisitions for now, while it beds down the Bengalla purchase and fights green groups to secure a mining lease by September to keep its New Acland mine in Queensland open.

"I'd never say no, but I think the focus of the company has now shifted very much to our existing operations and our joint venture interest in Bengalla," he said.