The Chinese government has ordered coal miners to bolster production as President Xi Jinping rallies to deal with an energy crisis threatening to hamper economic growth.
- Energy government officials in Inner Mongolia, China’s largest coal-producing zones, informed 72 local miners about expanding production capacity by 100m tonnes.
- A recovery in the global economy, the movement away from fossil fuels, and disruptions to the production of natural gas and coal have together led to the global struggle for energy supplies.
- The power outages in China have pushed high-tech manufacturing factories to temporarily stop or reduce operations, affected homes in the northeast, and increased concerns that critical industries such as food production could be affected.
- Christopher LaFemina, an analyst at Jefferies, stated that global coal markets have become largely tight because of numerous supply chain issues and strong demand.
Coal prices in China have risen this year, while prices for delivery into Europe reached a record high this week and are up more than three times since January.
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Source: FT.