Coal Prices to Rally Until End of Year

Global coal prices set a record high in 2022 so far, reaching up to US$236 per metric ton (MT). As a result, the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry has determined the benchmark coal price (HBA) for February 2022 at US$188.38 per MT. "The HBA increase in February 2022 was due to the high coal demand," the ministry's spokesperson Agung Pribadi said on Tuesday. Another factor influencing the increase in benchmark price was low natural gas supplies in European countries, forcing them to turn to coal for electricity generation.
Agung also said that the increase in HBA could not be separated from the government's decision to ban coal exports from January 1-31, 2022, to address domestic issues. For the record, The price is determined based on the average of the Indonesia Coal Index (ICI), the Newcastle Coal Index (NEX), Globalcoal Newcastle Index (GCNC), and Platt's 5900 in the previous month. The reference coal has a calorific of 322 kcal/kg GAR, 8 percent total moisture, 0.8 percent total sulfur, and 15 percent ash.