Indonesia's Coal Reference Price Increases by 12.77% in November 2023

The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has set the November 2023 Coal Reference Price (HBA) at US$139.80 per ton. This represents a 12.77% increase from the October 2023 reference price of US$123.96 per ton.

The last increase in the coal reference price occurred in July 2023, although it was very slight. For three consecutive months prior to November, Indonesia's coal reference price had been declining.

Since the beginning of 2023, the coal reference price has only increased three times.

The HBA I for November 2023 is set at US$103.20 per ton, a significant increase from October 2023's US$81.38 per ton.

The HBA II for November 2023 is US$52.86 per ton, up from US$50.41 per ton in October 2023.

The HBA III for November 2023 is set at US$28.49 per ton, up from US$25.50 per ton in October 2023.

Previously, the HBA was determined based on the average of the Indonesia Coal Index (ICI), Newcastle Export Index (NEX), Globalcoal Newcastle Index (GCNC), and Platt's 5900, with quality standardized to a calorific value of 6,322 kcal/kg GAR, 8% total moisture, 0.8% total sulfur, and 15% ash.

The HBA is now calculated based on the average of the realized coal selling price from the previous month (70% proportion) and the realized price from two months prior (30% proportion).

The HBA is also differentiated into four categories based on coal quality:

* HBA: calorific value equivalent of 6,322 kcal/kg GAR, 12.26% total moisture, 0.66% total sulfur, and 7.94% ash.
* HBA I: calorific value equivalent of 5,300 kcal/kg GAR, 21.32% total moisture, 0.75% total sulfur, and 6.04% ash.
* HBA II: calorific value equivalent of 4,100 kcal/kg GAR, 35.73% total moisture, 0.23% total sulfur, and 3.90% ash.
* HBA III: calorific value equivalent of 3,400 kcal/kg GAR, 44.30% total moisture, 0.24% total sulfur, and 3.88% ash.

This reference price is established through Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree Number 394.K/MB.01/MEM.B/2023 concerning the Reference Price for Metal Minerals and the Reference Price for Coal for November 2023, dated November 10, 2023.