May Benchmark Coal Price Drops To 275 US Dollars Per Ton

Illustration of coal to fuel a steam power plant. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Reference Coal Price (HBA) in May 2022 is USD 275.64 per tonne.

The May HBA decreased by 12.76 US dollars per ton from the previous month.

The decrease in HBA in May 2022 was caused by the increase in the amount of world coal supply, where China and India have increased their domestic coal production to reduce imports.

"In addition to the increase in troops, the Chinese State's decision to reduce Steam Power Plants (PLTU) and develop green energy has also contributed to the decline in world coal prices," said Head of the Communications, Public Information Services and Cooperation Bureau (KLIK) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Agung Pribadi in a statement. written statement, quoted Tuesday, May 17.

He added that in the previous month, the decision by the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to embargo energy supplies from Russia had triggered an increase in the Reference Coal Price (HBA) in April 2022 to USD 288.40 per tonne.

Agung explained, during 2022 in the first 4 months the HBA chart continued to climb.

Starting from January 2022 at 158.50 US dollars per tonne, rising to 188.38 US dollars per ton in February.

Furthermore, March touched the figure of 203.69 US dollars per tonne, and lastly in April it was at the level of 288.40 US dollars per ton.

"Only this month the graph has dropped slightly," Agung continued.

The HBA itself is a price obtained from the average index of the Indonesia Coal Index (ICI), Newcastle Export Index (NEX), Globalcoal Newcastle Index (GCNC), and Platt's 5900 in the previous month, with quality equivalent to 6322 kcal/kg GAR, total Moisture 8 percent, Total Sulfur 0.8 percent, and Ash 15 percent.

The May HBA will be used directly in the sale and purchase of coal commodities (spot) for one month at the point of delivery of sales for free on board aboard a carrier (FOB Veseel).