Coal Hits 5-week Low

Coal decreased to 133.75 USD/T, the lowest since March 2026. Over the past 4 weeks, Coal lost 0.04%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 41.31%.

Futures of thermal coal shipments out of Australia were above $130 per ton in April, maintaining most of the surge from March as the outbreak of war in the Middle East triggered shortages in energy commodities, favoring coal alternatives. The war in the Persian Gulf drove Iranian forces to strike tankers carrying liquified natural gas and liquified petroleum gas crossing the Hormuz chokepoint. Supply from the region was further dented as major natural gas processing facilities were hit in Qatar. The developments removed a large portion of feedstock for gas-powered plants in Asia, including Japan and Korea, which are the main consumers of higher grades of Australian thermal coal out of the Newcastle port. Ample appropriate facilities from the two large economies propel gas-to-coal switching for power generation, unlike China and India, which have more steady capacity and usually bid for lower-grade thermal coal.

Coal strengthened above $140 per ton and was on track to gain more than 20% in March, marking its biggest monthly advance since the peak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in May 2022. The surge comes as the prolonged Middle East conflict kept a risk premium in energy markets, prompting power generators across Asia and Europe to increase reliance on coal. Japan has joined other nations in signaling plans to ramp up coal-fired power generation to offset the energy shock from the Iran war. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is reportedly willing to end the US military campaign against Iran even without the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, potentially giving Tehran greater control over the strategic waterway. Iran is also said to be preparing to disrupt Red Sea shipping, raising the risk that two key global trade and energy corridors could be effectively cut off.