China Sept coal prices at new high, exports down - regulator
The price of coal used in power generation reached a new high in key Chinese markets in September after a decline in the country's delivery capacity, the regulatory National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.
China's coal exports also fell over the month, reaching 4.736 mln tons, down 3.9 pct from the same period last year.
The regulator said that last month, new price records were set in key regions like the port of Qinhuangdao in northern Hebei province and southern China's Guangdong province, the country's biggest power consumer.
The NDRC cited growing demand, as well as the impact of typhoons on China's shipment capacity, as the reasons for the continuing rise in prices.
Transportation costs rose over the period, with the cost of shipping power coal from Qinhuangdao to Shanghai and Ningbo up 5-10 yuan.
The cost of delivering coal to Guangzhou on the southeast coast increased by 10-15 yuan to reach about 135-145 yuan per ton, the NDRC said.
Even when transportation costs are excluded, the ex-mine price of coal in key producing regions still rose by around 10-15 yuan, it said.
At the end of September, the price of 5,500-kcal/kg power coal in Qinhuangdao climbed to a new record of 478-483 yuan per ton, and the prices of almost all types of coal firmed by about 10 yuan compared to August, the NDRC said.
The wholesale prices in Shanghai and Ningbo also reached new highs, with 5,500 kcal/kg coal rising by 10-15 yuan since the end of August to 590-600 yuan per ton. The wholesale price in Guangzhou increased by about 25-35 yuan to 640-650 yuan per ton.
Prices have risen by about 30-40 yuan per ton since May, the regulator estimated.
China produced 202.86 mln tons of coal in September, up 8.2 pct year-on-year. An average of 51,087 vehicles per day were delivering coal, up 6.8 pct compared to September 2006. However, shipments by road and rail had fallen compared to June and July.
Meanwhile, China's major ports handled 39.685 mln tons of coal over the course of the month, up 15.3 pct compared with September 2006.
Transportation bottlenecks and increasing shipment costs have led analysts to predict that China will soon become a net coal importer, with many consumers in southern provinces like Guangdong and Fujian finding it more convenient to source coal from suppliers in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Analysts have also said that planned expansions at large-scale collieries might not be able to keep up with the rise in demand, especially as the national campaign to close small and dangerous mines continues.
China was a net importer of coal in the first nine months of the year, with exports falling by more than 20 pct to 38.01 mln tons, and imports rising 47.6 pct to 38.61 mln tons, the General Administration of Customs said last week.