Indonesia sets Nov HBA thermal coal at $55.71/mt, down 16% on year

Singapore — Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources set its November thermal coal reference price -- also known as Harga Batubara Acuan, or HBA -- at $55.71/mt, down 15.9% year on year, but up 9.2% from October, according to a ministry official.

"HBA rose on month with an increase in China's seaborne demand as the domestic coal prices are more expensive compared with imported coal," the official said.

"Coal demand from Japan and South Korea have also improved," the official added.

The HBA price was at $67.09/mt in March and has been on a downtrend since then, slumping to its lowest of $49.42/mt in September amid the coronavirus pandemic, the official said.

The ministry had set the HBA price for October at $51/mt, and for November 2019 at $66.27/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 October, the daily Platts FOB Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR coal assessment averaged $50.63/mt, up 10.5% from $45.80/mt in September.

The HBA price for thermal coal is the basis for determining the prices of 77 Indonesian coal products and calculating the amount of 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.