Shenhua raises coal prices again and coal prices will probably continue to rise

China Shenhua Energy Co., Ltd raises 5500 kcal thermal coal prices between October 16 to October 22 to 668 Yuan/t, up 23 Yuan/t from October 1. Although there is no specific written document on it so far, coal prices actually rise.
According to coal industry analysts, driven by Shenhua, which is the wind indicator of coal industry, other large coal enterprises will increase spot prices successively, and coal prices will probably continue to rise in the short term. They consider that there are 4 factors supporting current coal prices. Firstly, coal sales in coal-producing areas perform well owing to coal-preparing activities before the heating season, which leads to the rising of coal prices. Secondly, the truck transportation freight of coal-producing areas rises, combined with the reducing amount of inbound coal to ports because of the maintenance of Daqin line, resulting in the decreasing coal stocks at ports around Bohai, which supports coal prices. Thirdly, the limit policy of imported coal is almost confirmed, and the amount of imported coal in the later four months will possibly decrease compared with the same period last year. Fourthly, coal enterprises and power enterprises will negotiate the long-term coal agreement in 2019 next month, and coal enterprises have enhanced their speaking right recently.