Insight
Global thermal coal: 2022 in review
*Please note that this report only includes an Excel data file if this is indicated in "What's included" below
Report summary
All manner of factors collided together this year to drive global thermal coal prices beyond anything we have seen before in history, reaching more than twice previous historical highs. Newcastle benchmark prices peaked in September at over US$440/t, a level unthinkable before this year. In fact, high-quality thermal coal prices got so high that they were above premium hard coking coal for significant periods this year, resulting in metallurgical coal crossing over into the thermal coal market. Here is a recap of the major events that drove thermal coal markets this year.
Table of contents
- Russian sanctions resulted in a scramble for high-CV coal supply
- Thermal coal generation went from black sheep to work horse
- Seaborne supply shortages increasingly worsened
- Costs and ESG concerns ballooned
- Coronavirus pandemic in China weighed on the low-CV market
- Scorecard for start of 2022 predictions:
Tables and charts
This report includes the following images and tables:
- Soaring seaborne price curtailed China’s import
- Newcastle vs Indonesia coal prices
What's included
This report contains:
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