Australia's Newcastle Coal Price Rises to Record $172.10 a Ton

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Jun 2008

Power-station coal prices at Australia's Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, jumped to a record for a fifth week as demand for the fuel surged in countries including India and China. Coal prices at the New South Wales port, the world's biggest export harbor for the fuel, rose $9.44, or 5.8 percent, to $172.10 a metric ton in the week ended June 27, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index.
The price of coal more than doubled in a year as Australian ports become congested and China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of the fuel, cut exports to meet soaring domestic demand. Xstrata, the world's largest exporter of power-station coal, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group are among mining companies that ship coal through Newcastle.

Source: Bloomberg