HBA coal reference price continues rising trend
Thursday, August 4 2016 - 01:11 AM WIB
The government sets its coal reference price (better known as HBA) for August 2016 at US$58.37 per ton FOB, up 10.1 percent from $53 in the previous month.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said in a statement obtained Thursday that this is the highest rate increase in the HBA in the past five years. The highest rate increase in the HBA since it was introduced in 2009 occurred in February of 2011 when it rose by 13 percent to $127.05 from the level in January.
The ministry said that the increase in the August HBA follows rises in June and July in line with the positive coal price trend in the global market. The HBA also increased in March and April.
The August 2016 HBA, however, was still 1.3 percent lower compared to the HBA in the same period of last year.
The HBA had started its multi-year downward trend since 2011 as global price drop due to a combination of oversupply situation and weaker demand for the commodity.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak