China’s Energy Crisis

... winter. Since the mid-2000s, coal prices have been determined by market mechanisms. Both crises (in 2011 and in 2021) occurred amid growing coal prices. Typically, September is not the time for surged coal consumption and coal prices—yet, in 2021, coal futures and spot prices increased severalfold in China, with coal prices generally growing on the global market and amid high demand and falling supplies. Back in June 2021, energy coal futures were traded at approximately CNY 800 per ton; on October 19, the price reached a record high of CNY 1982 ...