China’s coal-price indices stop revealing surging prices as demand soars and inventories ‘fall below warning line’
Analysts say the trend of high coal prices shows no sign of abating in the short term, while supplies continue to dwindle in China at an alarming rate
Restrictions on imported coal are also ongoing, and an industry group says they are unlikely to be reversed any time soon
Tuesday, 5 January 2021, 7:00:AM
It added that the coal supply still faces increasing pressure this winter, as it remains difficult for main production areas to boost output, while coal inventory in northern areas is dwindling, with a particular shortage of high-quality, low-sulfur coal.
Last month, China suffered its worst power blackouts in a decade, and
analysts pointed fingers at the resurgence of manufacturing, the coal shortage and China’s central economic planning. Some power plants have said recently that they had only enough coal left to operate for matter of days or a couple of weeks.
In Anyang, a city of more than 5 million people in central China’s Henan province, two major thermal power plants had enough coal to last less than 10 days, which was below the minimum requirement of 15 days, according to a government report published last week.