Thermal coal prices for power generation posted their biggest jump in three years after an unprecedented outage at Qatar’s major liquefied natural gas export complex lifted expectations of fuel-switching across the electricity sector.
Newcastle coal futures — the Asian benchmark — rose 8.6% to US$128.70 a tonne on Monday, the highest level for the front-month contract since December 2024.
Qatar suspended output at the world’s largest LNG export hub on Monday following an Iranian drone strike. The Ras Laffan complex represents about 20% of global supply and, in its 30-year operating history, had never previously gone fully offline.
The disruption sent European gas prices up 39%, the sharpest increase in 4 years. In Asia, where many economies rely heavily on Qatari LNG, Taiwan said it would boost coal-fired generation if the outage persists long enough to affect gas deliveries.