Reuters reported that China's coal miners have reached agreement with utilities in some regions on 2010's thermal coal prices and higher term prices have left utilities begrudging the increasing pricing power of coal miners.

An official at the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, which is in charge of compiling term deals information said that term prices for 2010 on contracts that have been signed rose from this year's levels by up to CNY 50 per tonne. But the official declined to give an average percentage change, citing the different price levels for 2009.

A power company executive said that a few coal groups in China's top coal producing province Shanxi have asked to raise term prices by CNY 30 per tonne to CNY 50 per tonne with coal with calorific value of 5,000 kcal per kilogram at around CNY 500 per tonne after the hike. In the northern province of Heilongjiang, utilities and coal miners have agreed on a price hike of CNY 50 per tonne to about CNY 390 per tonne.

(Sourced from Reuters)