Prices for coal are growing, as traders in Asia are in a hurry to stock up for the winter due to concerns of delays with deliveries from Indonesia and the ongoing global deficit of energy resources, Bloomberg reports.
At least one party of Australian coal with loading in February passed to another owner at a price of $ 300 per metric ton on Friday, according to traders who saw transactions on the GlobalCoal platform. According to traders, this is one of the most expensive goods ever transported, and it can push the spot prices above the record high level of October last year.
Marine energy coal is in disorder after Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter, announced the cessation of exports in January to replenish reserves on power plants experiencing fuel shortage. According to the trader, although since then the country has released a limited amount of deliveries, this step, however, caused some spot purchases to cover delays with delivery.
In particular, Japanese utilities are located in the market in search of coal with delivery in February and March, but, according to two traders, in the Pacific region there are not so many spot supplies.
This is the second jump in coal prices for several months. Last fall, the lack of electricity in China has led to large-scale interruptions with electricity in the economy No. 2 of the world, which led to a record import, which pushed prices to historical maxima. The historical internal production boom helped reduce prices by the end of the year.