Indonesia Talks on Coal Exports Postponed as Scores of Ships in Limbo

COAL - ​JAKARTA. Indonesian authorities postponed a meeting with coal mining companies on Wednesday, as scores of ships moored off the coast remained in limbo as they waited to see whether the government would lift a ban on coal exports.

The government has said it would review the ban on Wednesday and was due to meet mining companies in the morning ahead of a decision, which is keenly awaited by top economies in the region that rely on Indonesian supplies.

However, officials at the Indonesian Coal Miners Association (ICMA) said a planned meeting with trade minister Muhammad Lutfi had not taken place. They did not say why the meeting was postponed and added no new time had been agreed.

Ministry officials declined to comment.

Read Also: Gold Sees Uptick as Investors Focus on Fed for Hike Hints

Indonesia, the world's top exporter of thermal coal and China's largest overseas supplier, announced on Saturday a ban on coal exports in January to avoid outages at its own generators, sending coal prices in the region surging.

Amid high demand for electricity in winter, Japan's embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday urged the energy ministry to lift the export ban for high caloric coal, which is not used by local generators.

"The sudden export ban has a serious impact on Japan's economic activities as well as people's daily life," the embassy said in a letter, adding at least five vessels already loaded should be given immediate departure permits.

Japan imports approximately two million tonnes of coal per month from Indonesia, the embassy added.

Asia's economic powerhouses China, India, Japan, and South Korea together received 73% of Indonesian coal exports in 2021, ship tracking data from Kpler showed.

China's benchmark thermal coal futures rose as much as 7.8% on Tuesday in the first day of trading since the ban was announced, before paring gains on Wednesday. The futures were last traded at 702 yuan a tonne, down 1.3%.

ICE Newcastle monthly coal futures also jumped sharply when trading resumed on Jan. 4, registering their largest one-day gain since Nov. 3 and topping $174 a tonne for the first time since October.