© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – Sand dunes of low-grade coal are seen near a coal mine in Ruzhou city, Henan province, China, November 4, 2021. Reuters/Aly Song
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state planning authority warned domestic thermal coal producers and traders on Saturday against hoarding inventories or resorting to a range of other practices, saying they amounted to pushing up prices.
In its statement, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) added that industry players should not make false information about supply levels and costs that could cause the market to heat up.
The National Development and Reform Commission said it was formulating what it believed to be a price push to maintain market order.
China has struggled to rein in controls amid soaring commodity prices and is considering creating price indexes for products such as coal and iron ore.
The NDRC added that any sharp rise in coal prices without good reason is not allowed.
“Substantial price increase” means that the sales price of coal in medium and long-term contracts is higher than the upper limit set by the government, or the spot price rises by more than 50% of the limit.
China said on Thursday it would exempt all types of coal import duties from May until the end of March 2023.
