Coal soars to $300/t as Asia scrambles for power plant fuel

Coal prices are surging as traders in Asia scramble to snatch up winter supply amid fears of delayed deliveries from Indonesia and as a global energy squeeze continues.

At least one cargo of Australian coal for February loading changed hands at $300 a metric ton on Friday, according to traders who saw the transactions on the globalCOAL platform. That’s one of the most expensive cargoes ever transacted, the traders said, and could push spot price indexes above last October’s record high.