Thermal Coal Prices

Thermal coal prices averaged USD 116.01 per metric ton in February, up 7.2% from January. On 27 February, the commodity traded at USD 115.80 per metric ton, up 6.3% from 30 January.

Australian thermal coal prices averaged at a 13-month high in February, stoked by Indonesia’s decision to cut thermal coal mining quotas by 25%. Concerns about an Iran-U.S. war forcing a switch to coal, particularly in Asia, which gets over 80% of the oil and LNG shipped via the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz, also contributed to the price increase. In early March, prices have risen further, with the Strait shut and Qatar’s main LNG export hub fully closed for the first time in its 30-year history.