(CentreEnergy, Oct 19, 2006) The coal price at Qinhuangdao Port has risen about 5 per cent as compared with July, according to latest statistics from the China Coal Transportation and Marketing Association Information Center.

In response, some large domestic power generating groups are quiet, saying the recent coal price hike won't exert great pressure on power plants for the time being.

China entered the winter coal reserve period in October, with coal prices rising seasonally. Statistics show that the price of various types of coal at Qinhuangdao Port on October 16 rose 15-20 yuan per ton or about 5 per cent as compared with the price in July this year. Meanwhile, coal inventory at Qinhuangdao Port in October decreased by 10 per cent than in September, and current inventory is only 4.1 million tons.

Compared with the same period in 2005, coal price at Qinhuangdao Port at present has risen 5 per cent. The price of ordinary mixed coal has risen over 10 per cent.

Despite the coal price hike Chinese power plants are not nervous. They take this as seasonal price hike. Besides, they have ordered over half of their coal consumption at the beginning of the year, a common practice for power plants.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) published a report in August this year, according to which there are 800 million tons of coal projects in construction at present, accounting for 40 per cent of China's demand for coal in 2005. NDRC points out that if the trend of blind investment and construction in the coal sector is not curbed, coal supply and demand in China may go out of balance.

However, there are also experts predicting that coal price will rise in 2007. NDRC has registered 29 coal-oil conversion projects thus far. Once such projects are launched in a large scale, their demand for coal will total 160 million tons a year, equal to 5.5 per cent of China's total coal consumption at present.
source:CentreEnergy