Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has set its November thermal coal reference price, also known as Harga Batubara Acuan or HBA, at $84.89/mt, a jump of 23% from October and the highest level seen in more than 3 1/2 years.
November HBA also represents a 56% surge from a year ago. The HBA was last set higher at $85.33/mt in May 2013.
The rally in HBA prices since May this year has been largely driven by a mix of supply cuts and strong demand from China.
The HBA is a monthly average price based 25% on the Platts Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR assessment; 25% on the Argus-Indonesia Coal Index 1 (6,500 kcal/kg GAR); 25% on the Newcastle Export Index -- formerly the Barlow-Jonker index (6,322 kcal/kg GAR) of Energy Publishing -- and 25% on the globalCOAL Newcastle (6,000 kcal/kg NAR) index.
In October, the daily Platts FOB Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR coal assessment averaged $72.27/mt, up from $62.14/mt in September, while the daily 90-day Platts Newcastle FOB price for coal with a calorific value of 6,300 kcal/kg GAR averaged $93.17/mt, up from $72.90/mt in September.
The HBA price for thermal coal is the basis for determining the prices of 75 Indonesian coal products and calculating the royalty producers have to pay for each metric ton of coal they sell.
It is based on 6,322 kcal/kg GAR coal, with 8% total moisture content, 15% ash as received and 0.8% sulfur as received.
