Newcastle coal futures eased to below $145 per tonne, retracting from a recent peak of $147 reached on May 2nd, as China's anticipated increase in met coal demand for 2024 is modest due to stagnation in property and infrastructure sectors. This slowdown has been evident over the past two years. Despite this, prices remain elevated, buoyed by India's unprecedented coal-fired electricity generation in the first quarter. The surge in power production was driven by above-average temperatures, leading to increased air conditioner usage, and robust economic expansion, which resulted in higher overall power consumption. Moreover, China experienced a rise in coal imports in April, attributed to lower domestic output, aimed at bolstering stockpiles ahead of the anticipated peak summer demand season.
Coal decreased 2.65 USD/MT or 1.81% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Historically, Coal reached an all time high of 457.80 in September of 2022. Coal - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on May 17 of 2024.
Coal decreased 2.65 USD/MT or 1.81% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Coal is expected to trade at 143.62 USD/MT by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 150.19 in 12 months time.