Indonesian Coal Prices Explode Again to 8.43%

Indonesian coal prices exploded again or increased sharply to 8.43%. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources noted that Indonesia’s Coal Reference Price (CRP) increased in January 2023 to USD 305.21/ton. The increase in coal prices was triggered by disruptions in coal distribution in Australia as one of the global coal suppliers.

“Weather can be one of the reasons for the increase in CRP. The current spike in Australian coal prices is due to high rainfall which has hampered coal transportation,” said the Head of the Bureau of Communications, Public Information Services and Cooperation of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Agung Pribadi in Jakarta (2/1/2023).

Reported by cnbcindonesia.com, Agung explained that the problem with coal distribution occurred at the Australian loading port. These constraints have an impact on coal supply in importing countries. Among them are Japan and Korea.

Another factor that contributed to the increase of CRP was the increase in the monthly Globalcoal Newcastle Index (GCNC) index by 16.23%. Followed by the Newcastle Export Index (NEX) of 17.88%. However, the Platts index and the Indonesia Coal Index (ICI) fell by 8.81% and 3.25% respectively.

In 2022, CRP touched its highest value in October to USD 330.97/ton. Russia’s conflict with Ukraine has an impact on Europe’s geopolitical conditions. This caused fluctuations in European gas prices to be the main driving factor at that time.