Coal Prices Ease but Remain Overshadowed by India and China Developments
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Global benchmark coal prices fluctuated throughout the last week of May 2026. The movement of this energy commodity was driven by a mix of sentiments, including supply resilience in Asia, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and regional export policy changes.
Based on trading data, the benchmark coal price closed at US$136.75 per tonne on Friday (29 May 2026), reflecting a marginal weekly increase of 0.22% compared to the previous week’s closing of US$136.45 per tonne on 22 May.
The commodity briefly saw buying pressure, reaching a weekly high of US$139.40 per tonne on Tuesday (26 May 2026), before gradually correcting towards the end of the week.
Supply Preparedness in India and US Production
Amid the price movements, concerns over a supply crisis in India have been alleviated. State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) confirmed India has total coal reserves of 168 million tonnes to meet expected electricity demand spikes during the summer months.
As of 23 May 2026, coal stockpiles at power plants reached 47.6 million tonnes, while mine-mouth stockpiles stood at 113.5 million tonnes as of 24 May, a 10% year-on-year increase.
CIL stated this volume is sufficient to cover 19 days of operational use, meaning the typical stock drawdown during peak summer is a normal operational pattern, not a supply chain failure.
From another continent, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed US coal production rose slightly by 0.42% to 9.58 million short tons for the week ending 23 May 2026.
Despite the weekly increase, total US coal production since the start of 2026 reached 206 million short tons, down 0.5% compared to the same period last year.
Geopolitical Impact and China Incident
Meanwhile, in European markets, spot coal prices continued to climb to US$128 per tonne due to high volatility in natural gas markets, driven by uncertainty over the US-Iran crisis affecting commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
In response to risks of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply from the Middle East, Japan plans to lift restrictions on low-efficiency coal-fired power plants to conserve LNG usage, a move projected to boost demand for high-calorie coal.
In East Asia, price sentiment also rose in China following strict safety inspections after a mine explosion in Shanxi province on 22 May.
Local authorities ordered at least 118 mining companies to temporarily halt operations, which is expected to cut China’s coal output by 10 to 15 million tonnes in June alone.
Amid these dynamics, global market participants are also closely watching Indonesia’s plans to establish the state-owned Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia (DSI), which is set to oversee all coal export records from June onwards.
Today, Sunday (31 May 2026), the government will hold a press conference regarding the formation of Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia to signal international markets about the policy direction and management processes to be implemented by the government.