Coal price increased by nearly 1%, gas price decreased

Coal futures price in Australia on May 26 was 403 USD/ton, up nearly 1% compared to the previous day. The price of this item is about 6% from the peak in early March.

Hot weather and the easing of blockade measures by Shanghai and China because of Covid-19 are factors that support coal prices. In 2021, the world’s most populous country experiences an unprecedented blackout as manufacturing industries are at their peak. This year, some southern Chinese provinces were warned that they could experience power outages during the hot months.

India has also eased environmental regulations on coal mine expansion to boost output in the face of power outages in the country. Some mines will be able to increase production by 10% without requiring an environmental impact assessment.

Meanwhile, gas prices in the US, Europe, and the UK all fell.

According to Trading Economics, the price of gas in the US on May 27 was 8.8 USD/MMBtu, down nearly 2% from the previous day. Although decreasing, the price of this item is close to the peak in early May.

Gas prices in Europe and the UK simultaneously fell 3% from the previous day and traded at 83 euros/mwh (89 USD/mwh) and 140 UK cents/therm (US$1.7/therm), respectively.

From mid-April until now, gas prices in the UK have been around 130-190 British cents/therm ($1.6-2.4/therm), down 74% from the peak in early March.

Gas prices fell in the context of the European Union (EU) plan to buy gas together to reduce dependence on gas from Russia.

Last week, the European Commission proposed a plan on how the EU would abandon Russia’s fossil fuels by 2027. The way to do it is to increase investment in renewable energy and save energy.

Russia supplies 40% of gas to the EU. Since the war in Ukraine broke out, Moscow has stopped selling this item to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland because these countries do not pay in rubles as desired by Russia.

EU leaders said the bloc intends to start joint gas purchases this year. The EU’s joint purchase of gas is carried out in the direction of voluntary registration by countries.

According to Do Lan