(Bloomberg) -- Coal prices surged again in China as the country grapples with shortages of the fuel and power curbs ahead of a week-long holiday.
Prices for the power-plant fuel have more than doubled this year amid soaring electricity demand from the country's factories and slow output growth from its mines. The high prices have caused power generators to slow operations in parts of the country, leading to shortages and even blackouts.
So great is China's zeal to stock up inventories at power plants ahead of winter that higher quality coking coal, normally reserved for steel-making, is being redirected to generators, Huatai Futures said in a research note.
Thermal coal futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange jumped 6.5% to close at 1,393.6 yuan ($216) a ton, a new record.
Coking coal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 9.3% to 3,290.5 yuan a ton, also the highest ever.
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