Flooding disrupts coal supplies from China’s major mining hub

Heavy floods inundating central China have disrupted the supply chain in the major coal-producing province of Henan. Transport of coal from top mining regions like Inner Mongolia and Shanxi via the national transportation hub, Zhengzhou (Henan’s capital), to central and eastern China has also been severely impacted. According to market sources, the disruption would last for several days which could push up domestic thermal coal prices. At present 5,500 NAR thermal coal in China is already trending at an all-time high of RMB 1,000/t ($150/t). Coal output in Henan accounts for nearly 10% of China’s overall production.