China’s Cooling Coal Price Damps Fears Over Another Crippling Winter Power Crunch

(Bloomberg) — Chinese coal prices are falling as winter nears, offering relief to power plants that buy the fuel and reducing the chances of another round of debilitating power crunches.

Record domestic production and imports, and an increasing contribution from renewables, have put the country in a much better place to weather rising consumption during the peak demand period for heating. Persistently strong coal inventories and a recovery in hydropower generation have helped eliminate the key factors behind last year’s crippling surge in prices.