Chinese coal prices tumbled on fears of government intervention in the strained energy sector, as Beijing seeks to rein in electricity costs and stem a crisis that has hobbled the country’s economic growth.
Thermal coal futures trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, which have hit record levels in recent weeks, fell the maximum 8 per cent for a second consecutive day on Wednesday to Rmb1,755 ($274) a tonne. The CSI Coal index of big China-listed miners dropped 8.5 per cent.
The retreat came a day after China’s National Development and Reform Commission said it would “study specific measures to intervene” if coal prices kept rising, adding that it had organised a meeting with China’s biggest coal producers.