QHD price soars, when will it peak?

China’s benchmark thermal QHD coal price has soared this spring – it’s usually at a low this time of year. Strong demand is behind the unseasonal price surge and gencos are avoiding their traditional April and May restocking. But with this leading to low inventory as demand is set to increase, what will the gencos do? Imports could help. And market news suggests the National Development and Reform Commission is encouraging gencos to increase seaborne volumes. But we’ve also heard southern ports have been controlling import volumes recently. So, will imports increase or contract in the near term? With these questions in mind, we visited several power plants, ports and traders in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Read our report to find out what we discovered.