Coal Prices Slump This Week, CPO Shows Strength Instead!

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The movements of two of Indonesia’s flagship commodities, coal and crude palm oil (CPO), showed differing directions throughout the trading week from 30 March to 3 April 2026. Coal prices surged at the start of the week but then reversed course, closing the trading period lower than the previous week. In contrast, CPO prices continued to strengthen and closed the week at a higher level. According to Refinitiv data, at the close of the last available trading day of the week, Thursday (2 April 2026), the coal contract NCFMc2 closed at US$139.3 per tonne. This position rose slightly by 0.14% compared to the previous day’s close on Wednesday (1 April 2026), which was at US$139.1 per tonne. However, looking at the start of the week, the coal price was actually much higher. On Monday (30 March 2026), coal closed at US$148.6 per tonne. This means that, although there was a slight increase at the final close, coal prices still failed to return to the early-week level. This condition resulted in a weekly coal price decline of 3.16%. The initial weekly rise in coal was still influenced by global energy market concerns due to conflicts in the Middle East. Previously, the surge in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices prompted some electricity utilities to switch to coal, particularly higher-quality coal. That situation temporarily lifted coal prices and made the overall energy market sensitive to geopolitical developments. However, that sentiment was not strong enough to keep coal at its peak levels. The market appeared to begin consolidating after the sharp surge at the start of the week. Additionally, the government set reference coal prices for the first half of April at levels that remain relatively moderate for certain calorific values, indicating that the physical market has not fully experienced the surge reflected in futures movements.