Power-station coal prices in Indonesia, the biggest exporter of the fuel, fell last week, Jakarta Globe reported news.
Indonesian bituminous grade with a calorific value of 5,800 kilocalories a kilogram and as much as 2 percent sulfur, averaged $71.25 a metric ton in the week ended on Friday, according to the median forecast of five traders surveyed by Bloomberg. That’s down from $72.50 a ton a week earlier.
Sub-bituminous coal with a heating value of 4,500 kilocalories a kilogram and maximum 1 percent sulfur averaged $51.40 a ton in the same week, down from $54.25 previously, according to the survey. Coal with a calorific value of 4,000 kilocalories a kilogram and 0.5 percent sulfur averaged $40.23 a ton, rising from $40.09 a ton in a week earlier.
Coal at the Australian port of Newcastle, the benchmark grade for Asia, fell $2.50 to $85.85 in the week ended on Friday, the lowest in five months, according to IHS McCloskey, a Petersfield, England-based data provider.
All Indonesian prices are on a gross-as-received and free-on-board basis at Kalimantan or Sumatra, Indonesia’s two main coal-producing regions. They represent cargoes loaded on Supramax vessels, which can carry about 50,000 tons. Actual prices may vary by grade, depending on moisture, ash and sulfur contents, loading point and rate.
About 60 percent of Indonesia’s coal is classified as sub- bituminous. Higher moisture levels and a lower carbon content reduce sub-bit’s heating value compared with better quality stock. It has fewer than 6,100 kilocalories per kilogram, according to the Indonesian energy ministry.