Coal news and updates

Asia’s coal prices hit new highs as global utilities scramble for fuel

Thermal coal prices across Asia hit new highs this week as China and India restock critically low inventories to meet robust power consumption, industry sources said.

The most-traded thermal coal futures contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange CZCcv1 jumped more than 4% on Tuesday to a record high of 979 yuan ($151.63) a tonne.

In India, prices of better burning U.S. thermal coal (6900 NAR) in North Indian retail markets have risen by a third in the last 15 days and are up by more than 100% from a year ago to 14,600 Indian rupees a tonne.

Coal supply is struggling to catch up with demand in top consumer China as mine safety checks slow output.

In number two consumer India, the monsoon season and COVID-19 restrictions have hampered production.

The tight coal market across Asia is accentuating a global bull market in all power generation fuels, including natural gas and high-sulphur fuel oil, buoyed by economic growth and LNG supply issues.

“It is the perfect storm, prices are galloping due to China’s heatwave, shortages with Coal India and power plants, high freight rates, increased appetite in the rest of Asia, tightness due to Indonesian rains, Hurricane Ida in the U.S., and in general a supply crunch,” Puneet Gupta, founder of Indian coal marketplace Coalshastra, told Reuters.