PT Bayan Resources Tbk (BYAN) revealed that the world coal price trend will continue to show a positive trend amidst the current surge in coal prices, especially the price of ICE Newcastle coal, the October contract closed at USD 160.4 per tons in trading Thursday (21/9/2023).

BYAN Director, Alexander Ery Wibowo said that coal prices would be driven by economic growth in China and India as countries with the highest coal consumption in the world.

"Coal prices are mainly determined by economic growth in China and India. So I think the positive trend in future coal prices will remain good for the coal industry," explained Alexander to CNBC Indonesia in the Mining Zone program, quoted Friday (22/9/2023).

The recent high coal prices are actually the result of China's high demand and production of coal. Moreover, China has also placed restrictions on several coal mines due to security issues. "So the increase in production in China itself is not growing rapidly compared to the increase in demand," he explained.

Apart from that, the demand for coal in China is due to an increase in industrial output of approximately 4.5% in China. The latest news from Chinese coal is related to the construction of a coal power plant which has the capacity for two-thirds of the world's electricity.

Turning to other Asian countries, India, as the second largest coal user, consistently experiences an increase in coal use every year. India is adding 25-30 Giga Watt (GW) of thermal power plants in addition to the 49 GW of coal-based units under construction.

Apart from that, the sentiment of high demand ahead of various festivals in September also influenced India's high demand. The increase in demand for Asian coal can also be seen from the world's largest coal exporter.

CoalMint noted that Indonesian coal experienced a surge in demand, amidst limited ship cargo.

High demand will certainly increase production and sales from Indonesia. Quoting MODI, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, as of today (19/9/2023), Indonesia's coal production has reached 529.05 million tonnes or 76.18% of this year's coal production target of 694.5 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, coal sales from Indonesia have reached 434.37 million tons or reached 62.54% of the sales target in 2023.

Image Source: CNBC Indonesia TV

Source: www.cnbcindonesia.com/Bayan OptimistisTren Harga Batu Bara Masih Positif