Coal imports in the first quarter of this year exceeded exports for the first time ever. Fuelled by a need to power its robust economy, the world's largest coal producer is expected to import more and more coal in the near future.
As the need for coal grows, China might see a rise in prices within the next two years despite them rising sharply last year, experts said. The country imported 14.3 million tons of coal in the first three months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 60.4 percent. Meanwhile, it exported 11.42 million tons, a 32-percent drop from last year, according to customs figures.
"China may see a pure coal import this year and the domestic coal price has room for further inflation," Zhao Jianian, deputy secretary-general of the Coal Industry Economic Research Association, said. But Zhao expects the coal price will only rise "moderately" given the fact that unlike the oil industry, the coal industry only wins a poor profit edge.
Xiao Hanping, an analyst with Galaxy Securities, said that expanding domestic demand might generate a price hike that was "impossible to evaluate at present". The current price, of about 500 yuan ($64) per ton, has already reached a peak after a 15-percent rise last year, Zhao said. But imported coal costs about $63 per ton.
EDIT
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-04/19/content_853963.htm
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
