China Coal Shortages May Continue to Aug: Newspaper

Coal prices in China may not stabilize until August as supplies are expected to rise then, the Shanghai Securities News reported citing industry analysts. Regulatory policies will help major local coal mines to boost production capacities while imports are also projected to increase, the newspaper said citing a report by the China Electricity Council's CECI office. Some smaller thermal power plants cannot get supply due to the ongoing shortages, which the newspaper said were caused by record electricity consumption in many regions, the newspaper said. China has expanded its annual coal production capacity by 140 million tons per year in H1 and will add another 110 million tons in H2, while adding coal reserve storage capacities by about 600 million tons, about 15% of its annual consumption, the newspaper said citing the top planner NDRC.