China Coal Prices at Highest Since 2008 as Stockpiles - Bloomberg

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Power-station coal prices at Qinhuangdao port, a Chinese benchmark, rose to the highest inmore than two years as stockpiles slumped to the lowest in almost 12 months.

Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram climbed 1.3 percent to 805 yuan ($124) to 820 yuan a metric ton yesterday compared with a week earlier, according to the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association today. That’s the highest price since October 2008.

China faces rising demand for coal from power plants as faster-than-expected industrial growth leads to electricity shortages in provinces including Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Factories consume more than 70 percent of the nation’s power. About the
same percentage of China’s power stations are fueled by coal.

Stockpiles at Qinhuangdao, which ships half of China’s seaborne coal, plunged 13 percent from a week earlier to 4.89 million tons yesterday, the lowest since mid-May last year, according to the association today.