INDONESIA'S COAL PRICE DOWN

PLATTS - 05 Aug 2020 - Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources set its August thermal coal reference price -- also known as Harga Batubara Acuan, or HBA -- at $50.34/mt, down 3.5% on month and 30.7% on the year.

The HBA is a monthly average price based 25% each on Platts Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR assessments, Argus-Indonesia Coal Index 1 (6,500 kcal/kg GAR), Newcastle Export Index (6,322 kcal/kg GAR) and globalCOAL Newcastle (6,000 kcal/kg NAR).

"The coronavirus pandemic has reduced some imported coal demand, while stockpiles remained high, with China and India prioritizing domestic coal procurements rather than making seaborne purchases," according to a ministry spokesman.

The ministry had set the price for July at $52.16/mt, and for August 2019 at $72.67/mt.

In July, the daily Platts FOB Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR coal assessment averaged $45.47/mt, down 5.3% from $48/mt in June.

The HBA price for thermal coal is the basis for determining the prices of 77 Indonesian coal products and calculating the amount royalty producers have to pay for each metric ton of coal sold.

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.

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