Thermal coal futures climbed toward $130 per ton in mid-August, trimming recent losses as oil prices surged amid ongoing uncertainty over a US–Iran agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Rising crude prices are boosting incentives for fuel switching, particularly in energy-importing economies across Europe and Asia.
At the same time, China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration released the “15th Five-Year Plan for Coal Industry Development.” The plan targets an increase in the share of production capacity from large, modernized coal mines to 87% and from intelligent mines to 75% by 2030. It also calls for maintaining an annual reserve of more than 100 million metric tons of production capacity, accelerating the closure of outdated mines through market-based and legal mechanisms, and enforcing strict capacity-replacement rules for new projects.
