Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has set its November thermal coal

reference  price,also  known  as Harga Batubara Acuan or HBA, at $84.89/mt, a jump of 

23% from October and the highest level seen in more than 3 1/2 years. 

November HBA also represents a 56% surge from a year ago. The HBA was last set high

er at $85.33/mt in May 2013. 

The rally  in HBA  prices  since  May this  year has been largely driven by a mix of supply 

cuts and strong demand from China. 

The HBA is a monthly  averag e price  based 25% on the Platts Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg 

GAR assessment; 25% on  the  Argus-Indonesia  Coal Index 1 (6,500 kcal/kg GAR); 25% 

on the  Newcastle  Export Index -- formerly  the Barlow-Jonker index (6,322 kcal/kg GAR) 

of Energy Publishing -- and 25% on the globalCOAL Newcastle (6,000 kcal/kg NAR) inde

x. 

In October, the daily Platts FOB Kalimantan 5,900 kcal/kg GAR coal assessment average

d $72.27/mt, up  from $62.14/mt  in  September, while  the  daily  90-day Platts Newcastle 

FOB  price  for  coal  with  a calorific value of 6,300 kcal/kg GAR averaged $93.17/mt, up

from $72.90/mt in September. 

The HBA price for thermal coal  is  the  basis  for determining the prices of 75 Indonesian 

coal products and calculating the  royalty  producers  have  to pay  for each metric ton of 

coal they sell. 

It is based on 6,322 kcal/kg GAR coal, with 8% total moisture content, 15% ash as receiv

ed and 0.8% sulfur as received.