The trade war lower Asian coal price to the lowest level in 4 years

Coal prices in Asia have recorded a sharp decline and reached its lowest levels in four years, with global trading tensions threatening to undermine demand, and the market is pushing the levels that can force more producers to stop production. The future contracts for Newcastle Coal fell to $ 94.25 a tonne on Thursday, the lowest level for the nearest delivery contracts since May 2021. The price of coal transferred by the sea has collapsed in recent months, in light of the moderate winter weather limited to the demand in China and other major Asian importers. Increasing coal in China, exacerbating the excess fuel supplies due to the decline in the production of thermal power plants during the first quarter of the year, while the monthly coal production of coal over the past month was the highest level. The mutual trade war between the two largest economies in the world threatens economic growth and coal consumption. “We expect the charcoal market to remain in a fluctuation condition for a period of time amid the exacerbation of the effects of global trading disorders,” said Steve Halton, the first vice president of the coal markets at Rystad Energy. He added: “But we will probably rise more because of the presence of producers on the highest side of the cost curve suffering from low prices up to below $ 100 per tonne.” According to the China Coal Transfer and Distribution Association in China, the immediate prices of coal in the Chinese market are currently the long -term supply contracts set by the government, which are considered a minimum theoretical price. This situation, together with the movements of some producers to reduce production, can contribute to the slowdown of the rate of prices. Glencore PLC, the world’s largest charcoal cruise business, announced last month the reduction of planned production in the “Serigon” mine in Colombia, in an effort to stop the collapse of coal prices.