Business Maverick

International Finance

China Coal Futures Plunge Again as Government Plans Price Curbs

A stacker-reclaimer operates at a coal stockpile site in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Saturday, 23 October 2021. (Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Coal futures in China extended a plunge as the nation’s government considers new limits on prices to help ease an energy crisis, along with a call on miners to lift output.

The most-active thermal coal contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange fell as much as 9.7% Thursday to 1,033.8 yuan ($161.48) a ton, the lowest intraday price since mid-September. Coal futures have slumped more than 40% since hitting a record on Oct. 19.

Read more: China Plans to Cap Key Coal Price to Ease an Energy Crisis

China’s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, plans to set the price of its most-popular 5,500-NAR grade coal at 440 yuan ($69) a ton at the pit-head, people familiar with the situation said Wednesday. There’ll be an absolute ceiling at 528 yuan, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.

China is planning to limit the price of a key thermal coal grade

The policy comes as China also urges miners to deliver about an additional 100 million tons of coal in the final three months of the year to help meet winter demand. Authorities are working to boost supply of diesel and gas.

New proposals on pricing, which need approval by the State Council, China’s cabinet, are among a slew of measures the nation’s government is using to tackle an energy crunch that’s sparked widespread shortages and had left almost all coal-fired power plants in the country running at losses.

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

MavericKids vol 3

How can a child learn to read if they don't have a book?

81% of South African children aged 10 can't read for meaning. You can help by pre-ordering a copy of MavericKids.

For every copy sold we will donate a copy to Gift of The Givers for children in need of reading support.

A South African Hero: You

There’s a 99.8% chance that this isn’t for you. Only 0.2% of our readers have responded to this call for action.

Those 0.2% of our readers are our hidden heroes, who are fuelling our work and impacting the lives of every South African in doing so. They’re the people who contribute to keep Daily Maverick free for all, including you.

The equation is quite simple: the more members we have, the more reporting and investigations we can do, and the greater the impact on the country.

Be part of that 0.2%. Be a Maverick. Be a Maverick Insider.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options