JAKARTA, Sept 2 (NNN-ANTARA) – Indonesia edged lower the coal reference price, known as the coal benchmark reference price, for Sept, as demands remain weak, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, brought down the coal reference price for Sept by 0.92 percent, to 49.42 U.S. dollars for one metric tonne, on a monthly basis, the ministry’s spokesman, Agung Pribadi, said on Tuesday.
The subdued global and domestic demands occurred, as business activities have not fully recovered, particularly those in the major importing countries, during the pandemic, the spokesman said.
The tightening of policies on coal imports, applied by the importing nations, made the coal stockpiles surge in the nations, Pribadi added.
“The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in coal imports by foreign nations,” he said.
The Indonesian coal reference price dropped since Mar, when the country confirmed its first COVID-19 cases, after creeping up in the presiding month.
To increase the tumbling coal prices, the Indonesian coal producers plan to slash 115 million tonnes of the country’s coal output to 480 million tonnes this year, Head of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association, Pandu Patria Sjahrir, said.
Last year, Indonesia’s coal reference price drifted lower to an average of 77.92 U.S. dollars per metric tonne, falling from 98.96 U.S. dollars in the previous year, according to the ministry.
The Indonesian reference price for thermal coal is the basis for setting up the prices of the country’s 77 coal products, and measuring the royalty, producers have to pay for each metric tonne of coal sold.
The natural resources-rich Indonesia is one of the world’s largest exporters and producers of thermal coal.– NNN-ANTARA
