Coal India Plans To Increase Prices As Asian Coal Prices Hit All-Time Highs: Report

Coal India Ltd is planning to increase the prices of coal slowly after considering the views of all stakeholders, the state-run miner's chairman said on Wednesday, as Asian coal prices hit all-time highs.

Asian coal prices from exporters Australia and Indonesia, and the most-traded thermal coal futures contract on China's Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange touched record highs recently due to robust power consumption.

"We cannot increase the price of coal abruptly. It can only be increased slowly, and that we are planning (to do)," Coal India Chairman Pramod Agrawal told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting.

The world's largest coal miner, which accounts for over 80 percent of India's output of fuel, last raised coal prices in 2018 and is generally not aggressive with pricing.

"Coal India is planning to increase the price but taking the views of all the stakeholders and getting them on board is essential before we make a decision because it affects the price of the energy in the country," Agrawal said.

The company's stock has surged by over 20 percent in over three weeks to a three-month high on Wednesday, buoyed by a step up in production due to a surge in demand for coal-fired electricity as coronavirus-related curbs are eased across India.