Coal news and updates

China floods: Coal price hits fresh high as mines shut

The price of coal used in China's power plants has surged to a new record high as another of the country's key mining regions is hit by flooding.

Heavy rains hit Shanxi in recent days, the country's biggest coal producing province, after record floods struck the mining region of Henan in July.

Thermal coal on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange rose by over 10% on Tuesday.

The floods further complicate China's efforts to increase fuel supplies to ease its deepening energy crisis.

Shanxi Province, which produced around a third of China's coal supplies this year, was forced to temporarily shut dozens of mines due to flooding. Although some sites are now slowly resuming operations.

At least 15 people have died during the severe flooding that has affected more than 1.76 million people in the province, local officials said on Tuesday.