Indonesia sets Feb HBA thermal coal price at $66.89/mt, rises 1.5% on month

Singapore — Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources set its February thermal coal reference price -- also known as Harga Batubara Acuan, or HBA -- at $66.89/mt, up 1.5% from January and down 27% year on year.

A Chinese domestic supply crunch over the Lunar New Year holidays amid the coronavirus outbreak had edged seaborne demand higher, according to a ministry spokesman.

The ministry had set the price for January HBA at $65.93/mt, and for February 2019 at $91.80/mt.

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).

In January, the daily Platts FOB Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR coal assessment averaged $60.48/mt, up from $60.33/mt in December.

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.