Benchmark thermal coal prices at
China's Qinhuangdao, the nation's biggest delivery port for the fuel, fell for
the third week as inventories continued to climb on slowing demand.
Coal with an energy value of
5,500 kilocalories per kilogram fell by 0.6 percent to a range of 760 yuan
($121) to 770 yuan a metric ton as of yesterday compared with a week earlier,
according to data today from the China Coal Transport and Distribution
Association. That's the lowest since March 21.
Coal inventories at power
stations were higher this year compared with last, with major plants holding
the equivalent of 22 days of demand as of Feb. 10 versus 17 days a year
earlier, according to data from the association.
Stockpiles at Qinhuangdao, which
delivers half of China's seaborne coal supplies, rose for the eighth straight
week to 8.25 million tons as of yesterday, an increase of 3.7 percent from a
week earlier, according to the data today.
Prices may fall 5 percent this
year and another 10 percent in 2013 as domestic coal production outpaces demand
and transport constraints ease, according to estimates by Sanford C. Bernstein
& Co. published in a report Feb. 21.
Source: Bloomberg
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