Coal price rally firing up SGX-listed miners

Singapore

A CONFLUENCE of fresh factors - chiefly renewed demand from China, the world's top coal buyer, and a weather-led supply crunch in Indonesia - is stoking a rally in coal prices, which could turn the trio of upstream coal miners listed on the SiThe price of 4,200 GAR coal, a popular Indonesian coal grade among Chinese and Indian coal buyers, has shot up to US$33.50 per metric tonne FOB (free on board). This price is some US$3/mt up from the start of the year, and underscores last November's multi-year low of US$28.30/mt, going by S&P Global Platts' data.

The commodity is still some way off the US$40/mt level it hit in mid-2018, but pundits do not rule out a sustained recovery in coal prices for awhile longer, especially with the Chinese New Year coal binge looming and with rising demand from China and India.