Singapore November 30, 2021: Richard Bay thermal coal futures dropped 9.02% on Tuesday after the state economic planner signalled further regulations for prices of the dirty power-generation fuel.
Coal prices declined by USD40 per ton or 25 percent since outbreak of Omrican variant in Africa region.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Monday that it has summoned key coal miners for advices on improving coal prices mechanism.
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“After recent abnormal rise in coal prices, it is time to improve the coal prices mechanism,” said the NDRC in a statement, adding that all market participants have reached a consensus on the reasonable range of coal prices.
But it did not disclose any details of the price level. Some coal miners at top mining regions, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, have caped prices at 900 yuan a tonne for 5,500 kilocalorie under regulators’ pressures.
Meanwhile, Beijing has instructed ramping up of output and power plants to build up inventory as winter heating season kicked in northern China.
Coal storage at power generators across China reached 147 million tonnes last week and may hit an all-time high by the end of November, according to the state planner.
